The sting that caught a Moerewa grocer selling ingredients used in drug making was timely for Northland-based drug buster Mike Sabin.
In a television news item earlier this week, which singled out two Moerewa dairy owners, Mr Sabin said that for too long organised crime had flown under the radar - and communities were paying the price for it.
While Moerewa had been caught in the spotlight "it's no different to a lot of places in New Zealand," he told The Northern Advocate.
The founder of the drug education consultancy Methcon Group, Mr Sabin has recently completed a research paper he will present to Parliament.
The paper deals with the supply and demand for methamphetamine, preventative measures and solutions, he said.
In the news item, Blue Lagoon Four Square dairy owner Nick Patel and next door Moerewa Food Market owner Mahesh Patel were filmed selling isopropyl alcohol to a hidden camera-wearing actor.
Isopropyl alcohol is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, or P, and cannabis oil.
Mr Sabin said that before the TV One news team contacted him he was not aware the Moerewa dairies were considered an easy source of the cleaning product.
He also said he had no prior knowledge of the secretly filmed sting and the following interview of the distressed Mr Patel by a news crew.
However, he was unsympathetic to the dairy owners - and any other shopkeepers - who sold a substance, even a legal one, knowing it could be used to make drugs.
He said few "people would be buying that stuff for legitimate reasons".
He would like to see other protocols in place similar to those applying to pharmacists who sell drugs containing pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient to make P.
He also wants courts to have the power to come down harder on the largely gang-led P trade.
Northland police are also calling for help in the P crackdown, asking people to let them know of suspicious product sales.
After the television expose, Kawakawa police officers visited the Moerewa dairy owners to remind them of their social responsibilities.
Since that visit both dairy owners have put up signs saying they no longer stock isopropyl alcohol. Nick Patel said the police also reminded the shopkeepers they were there to help them if they received any adverse backlash from the community.
"We'd say that to anyone," Kerikeri acting senior sergeant Peter Masters said.
Mr Masters said anyone who suspected a dairy was selling goods used in the manufacture of drugs should contact police.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the matter in relation to the item on television and will take appropriate action if necessary, communication manager Sarah Kennett said.
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