Underground bunker grow found in Kaniere raids; two arrested, $5M seized
Tasman police raided a sophisticated cannabis operation on the West Coast, finding a large underground bunker grow at Kaniere and arresting two men, while restraining about $5 million in assets.
Tasman police ended a months-long covert investigation into commercial cannabis cultivation on the West Coast with the arrest of a 72-year-old Ngahere man on 9 September and a search of a large rural property at Kaniere days later.[1]At Kaniere officers found a very large underground bunker holding a sophisticated cannabis growing operation, along with a large number of firearms.[1]
Two men charged
The Ngahere man was charged with possession of cannabis for supply and due in Christchurch District Court.[1]A 63-year-old man arrested at Kaniere was charged with cultivating and selling cannabis and appeared in Greymouth District Court on 18 September.[1]Police restrained assets estimated at $5 million.[1]
Later trial coverage of the same raids reported officers had found more than 800 plants, not counting seedlings or harvested cannabis, in a 240-square-metre bunker buried three metres underground and entered through a shipping container.[2][3]
Milne, 68, and Harris, 77, were found guilty in March 2024 and were jailed on 24 October 2024.[4]Judge Paul Kellar sentenced Milne to six years in prison for cultivating, possessing for sale and selling cannabis.[3]Police said the bunker could produce about 136 kilograms of cannabis a year with a street value of more than $1 million.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The 2019 reports give no plant count; the figure of more than 800 plants comes from later trial coverage of the same raids.
The 2019 reports name the cultivation and supply charges but the trial outcome, which came years later, is a separate event outside this report.
Sources differ on the quantity of cannabis found and its value: RNZ says more than 800 plants and about 136 kg a year worth over $1 million, while court coverage in The Press described 816 plants counted in August 2019 and a $1.05 million annual retail estimate.
The jail terms of six years for Milne and five years for Harris are not yet in the report's figures; a sentence term would need to be added to the report's structured data.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in NZ Herald (Hokitika Guardian): Harris was sentenced to five years in prison.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in NZ Herald (Hokitika Guardian): The Crown said the pair made at least $2.25 million from the operation over a minimum of two years, and $450,000 was banked by Harris with no legitimate source.
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