Read the full coverage of the raids - and what the hunters saw - in Tuesday's Herald. Are you in the area? Have you seen anything?
Please call the Herald on (09) 373-6417 or email us.

Armed police stop vehicles at a checkpoint near the Bay of Plenty settlement of Ruatoki. Photo / Alan Gibson

Armed police stop vehicles at a checkpoint near the Bay of Plenty settlement of Ruatoki. Photo / Alan Gibson

Two hunters alerted police to the presence of armed men in camouflage in the Ureweras after stumbling into their camp, the Herald can reveal.

Police today arrested 17 people in nationwide raids linked to alleged weapons training camps in the Bay of Plenty.

The story of what the hunters saw - to be reported exclusively in Tuesday's New Zealand Herald - forms part of the background to an extensive investigation by 300 police including the specialist police anti-terrorist unit.

The raids appear to have targeted Maori, political and environmental activists and were conducted under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and Firearms Act.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad said the sting was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the alleged guerrilla-style training camps.

He said the raids were carried out in the interests of public safety.

TV3 quoted a source as saying a Napalm bomb had been set off at one of the camps the weekend before last. Napalm is an incendiary gel developed during World War II.

The police investigation focused on a core group of about 20 people but with 40 more potentially involved. Conversations were bugged, phones tapped, text messages intercepted and suspects secretly videoed.

A number of those arrested in today's raids - including Maori activist Tame Iti - appeared this afternoon in district courts in Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton and Auckland.

Most faced weapons charges and were granted interim name suppression, including four arrested in Wellington.

Wellington court appearances

The two men, aged 28 and 23, and two women, aged 36 and 30, faced a total of 20 charges between them when they appeared in Wellington District Court this afternoon.

The charges included possession of shotguns, semi-automatic weapons, molotov cocktails, and rifles, allegedly committed in Rotorua over the past year.

One woman was charged with possession of .22 calibre cartridges in Wellington.

The four were remanded in custody until Friday, but the judge said an application to transfer the cases to Auckland could be heard on Wednesday afternoon.

Auckland court