Fingerprints found in Papamoa P lab, court told

A woman is defending drug charges after police discovered a P-lab at a Papamoa house and allegedly found her fingerprints on key items.

Alexandra Hastie, 23 of Papamoa, whose trial began in the Tauranga District Court yesterday, has denied five counts of possession of precursor equipment or substances used in the manufacture of methamphetamine and intended to be used for that purpose. Hastie also denies one count each of manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of cannabis for supply.

Crown prosecutor Heidi Wrigley told the jury the charges stemmed from a police and specialist clandestine drug laboratory team search of a Papamoa Beach Rd property on August 28, 2009.

The subsequent scientific analysis had uncovered Hastie's fingerprints on a number of drug items found.

Mrs Wrigley said Hastie was one of two people at the property that day. During a search, a small vial of methamphetamine had been located inside Hastie's handbag.

Found throughout the address was a large amount of equipment and chemicals which included a pyrex baking dish, beakers, digital scales, a digital PH meters, electric frypan, and an adapted electric rice cooker, hydrochloric acid, acetone, iodine, hypophosphorous acid, and methylated spirits, a fuel light and sodium hydroxide.

Mrs Wrigley said a number of these items "bore the hallmarks" of the methamphetamine process.

Some had also been found to have traces of methamphetamine and the accused's fingerprints on them.

Surfaces and walls were also swabbed and found to have significant traces of methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine - another key cooking ingredient, "Further proof that the manufacturing process had taken place at the address."

She said police also found 2kg of cannabis head material, a large portion of which was stored inside a 20-litre plastic container.

CCTV footage and a bar-coded receipt would confirm the accused bought the container at Mitre 10 Papamoa on June 18, 2009.

The accused's alleged co-offender had already pleaded guilty to a number of charges, Mrs Wrigley said.

"The Crown says Miss Hastie was not just an onlooker or innocent party to this drug offending."

Lawyer Kerry Burroughs said his client was only visiting the address where the items were found.

His client's mere presence at the address did not automatically mean she had anything to do with what was going on, Mr Burroughs said.

He urged the jury to listen carefully to the evidence

The trial continues today.