When officers removed the lids of two fish bins, they found thousands of dollars worth of cannabis head.
The scene is under armed guard and a number of specialised Police, including forensics, are on the scene.
An ESR expert with specialist knowledge of commercial cannabis operations has flown up from Wellington and will work towards placing a total dollar value on the amount of cannabis found this morning, including past income and potential proceeds from the criminal activity.
"The electrical setup here is extremely professional and has been very cleverly done, to the extent that the wiring has been done so that the majority of the power isn't being paid for.
The offenders here have invested a substantial amount of money into this operation" says Detective Senior Sergeant Stan Brown, Waitemata Police.
Across town in Beach Haven, North Shore, a further 246 plants have been found growing in the basement of a house.
Waitemata Police officers are also searching a yacht in the Westhaven Marina, a commercial unit in Albany, and residential addresses in Sunnyvale, Massey and central Auckland.
Today's search warrants are the culmination of a Waitemata Police investigation that has been underway for some months, into the large-scale production and supply of cannabis in the Waitemata area.
"At this stage we have arrested eight people from various locations and they are being spoken to by Police at our North Shore and Waitakere stations.
All of them are expected to be facing charges of supplying or cultivating cannabis" says Det Snr Sgt Brown.
"For some time we've been aware that the growing and sale of cannabis was happening in our district.
"We know that at one address alone, more than a hundred people a day have been visiting to purchase cannabis.
"Today's operation will significantly disrupt and stop that, and the social harm that comes from the supply and sale of cannabis, which we know contributes to volume crime, such as burglary, theft and stealing cars" says Det Snr Sgt Brown.