Gang member wanted after P lab raid

Jaydean Hura is wanted by police in relation to making methamphetamine

A patched gang member wanted in relation to making methamphetamine for a multi-million-dollar drug operation could be hiding out in Northland.

Police yesterday issued a warrant to arrest Jaydean Hura and have appealed to the public for help to find him.

The 35-year-old patched member of the Headhunters gang is being sought after Operation Easter which culminated in the arrest of gang members and associates of the Headhunters gang in Northland last December. Hura is wanted in relation to making methamphetamine.

Armed police raided the lab at a property in Taipuha Rd at Waiotira, between Whangarei and Paparoa, in a series of busts resulting in 14 arrests on December 16. No one was found at the house during the early morning raid but police believe at least $3 million of methamphetamine had been "cooked" there.

Northland's Detective Inspector Kevin Burke said police believed the property was bought to set up the factory-style laboratory for the large-scale manufacture of methamphetamine.

QV records showed the current owner purchased the three-bedroom brick property in 2006 for $100,000 - $4000 above its CV.

Mr Burke said the property came to police attention during investigations and he could not comment on how long the house had been used as a drug base.

Two generations of some families, three patched gang members and associates were among those arrested. Three clandestine labs, three firearms and a small amount of methamphetamine and cannabis were uncovered. A covert police operation had been watching drug cooking and distribution activities for seven months.

Last November, they stopped a Mercedes car on an Auckland motorway and found about 2.5kg of methamphetamine with a street value of between $2 million-$2.5 million. The vehicle had been driven from Whangarei by two Headhunter gang associates aged 17 and 18. In one three-day period, $3 million worth of meth was cooked at the Waiotira house, Mr Burke said after the initial arrests.

The sting involved 16 other properties, most of them residential Whangarei addresses. Fourteen people appeared in Whangarei District Court on drugs, firearms and other charges.

Police believe Hura is likely to be in Auckland or Northland, where he has links, and may be driving a silver Mazda Lantis, registration CBJ450.

-If anyone has any information on his whereabouts they should contact detectives on 021 1916189 or 021 1903980. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.