Operation Ella removed 115,000 cannabis plants in six months
New Zealand Police said Operation Ella, run from November 2003 through April 2004 against growers and suppliers, recovered or destroyed about 115,000 cannabis plants, seized 92 kg of dry plant material, and charged 619 people while also finding seven clan labs and 76 firearms.
Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall said Operation Ella, carried out between November 2003 and
April 2004, targeted cannabis growers and suppliers and recovered or destroyed an estimated
115,000 plants.[1][2]Police also seized92 kilograms of dry cannabis plant material, which they
described as worth NZ$500,000 at a conservative estimate.[1][2]
Organised links and other drugs
Marshall said the operation was aimed at organised criminals, noting that officers found seven
clandestine drug laboratories and seized 76 firearms during the work.[1][2]Police charged 619
people with offences including cannabis cultivation and possession for supply, theft, burglary, and
manufacturing Class A and B controlled drugs.[1][2]
Marshall said the mix of charges showed that many of those involved in cannabis were also active in
other drug lines.[1][2]He credited public tip-offs for much of the success.[1][2]Police also
recovered more than NZ$300,000 worth of stolen property, including cars, boats and an earth-moving
digger.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Police announced the totals on 24 June 2004; the operation itself ended in April 2004.
The dry cannabis is described as worth NZ$500,000 at a conservative estimate; that is police valuation, not measured sales.
A Nelson Bays follow-up in the Herald later quoted a much lower national plant count for the same operation; this report uses the national police figure of 115,000.
Individual regional raids within the campaign are not broken out here.
Police destroyed around 360 cannabis plants found under 15 tents in a Queen Street warehouse in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland. The search warrant was executed on Thursday, 14 May 2026, after an electrician reported unusual wiring, ventilation pipes and a cannabis smell.
Police announced on 25 September 2025 that a month-long operation in Auckland had shut 120 cannabis grow houses, destroyed more than 11,000 plants and seized more than 10 tonnes of cannabis. Thirty people were arrested, most Vietnamese nationals facing deportation, and police put the black-market value at more than NZ$50 million.
New Zealand police seized more than 34,000 cannabis plants and 79 kg of dried cannabis, together valued at about $95 million, in the summer national aerial eradication operation, with results announced 6 May 2022. Officers ran 123 searches, seizing 80 firearms and dismantling 24 indoor commercial grows.
Police destroyed 16,307 cannabis plants in Northland during Operation Jess, run from mid-January to mid-March 2018, the highest district tally in that year's national eradication programme. Officers also seized dried cannabis, firearms, cash and stolen property.
