Tauranga man charged with meth offence after discovery of alleged P-lab

The police operation was supported by a Fire and Emergency New Zealand hazmat unit.

A suspected P-lab was found during an armed police raid last week, Tauranga Police have confirmed.

A local man, whose identity is suppressed, has been charged with a drug offence.

On July 24, armed police and other officers swooped on a Judea property, supported by a Fire and Emergency New Zealand hazmat unit.

Residents were prevented from leaving or returning to their properties for several hours.

Police described the operation as a pre-planned search, which continued the next day.

Detective Senior Sergeant Natalie Flowerdew-Brown told the Bay of Plenty Times that during the search, police located what was believed to be a clandestine methamphetamine lab.

She said a 35-year-old man had been charged with possession of equipment and material with intent to use them to manufacture methamphetamine.

He was next due in court on August 13. No one else had been charged over this matter.

Court documents reveal police allege the man had “precursor equipment”, namely a glass, single-neck, round-bottom shaped reactor vessel, intending it would be used to manufacture the class A controlled drug.

Police cordoned off an area of Judea for the operation on the night of July 24.

This alleged offence carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The accused was remanded in custody when he appeared in the Tauranga District Court on July 25 and has been granted interim name suppression.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.