Police say they were "extremely disappointed" to find two school-aged children living in a house where they busted an indoor cannabis growing operation.
Sergeant Kevin Milne, of Kawakawa police, said the "reasonably well set up" operation found in a rented home in Opua early last Thursday had 47 plants.
The tenants were absent at the time but police caught up with them on Saturday.
Mr Milne said a 37-year-old man had made a full admission and been charged with cultivating cannabis. He would appear in the Kaikohe District Court later this month.
"As we often find when we locate drugs, children also live at the house. This exposes the children to drugs and other criminal behaviour. We all know that drugs and gangs go hand-in-hand, so they're exposing their children to other behaviour such as gang violence," Mr Milne said.