Global General

400 arrested in New Zealand drug crackdown

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-06 14:36

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand police have made nearly 400 arrests for drug-related offenses as part of a crackdown on methamphetamine production over the past two months, Police Minister Judith Collins announced on Wednesday.

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In total, 380 police staff worked on the operation, which netted hundreds of thousands of dollars of methamphetamine, cannabis and stolen property around the country, she said.

In December alone, 19 meth labs were discovered, bringing to 137 the number of labs discovered and dismantled in 2009.

National crime manager Win Van der Velde said the operation was part of a police effort to disrupt the supply of methamphetamine and reduce the crime that is related to the drug's production.