Four people facing charges of manufacturing methamphetamine at a rented bach in Northland were busted after a property manager became suspicious and called police.
Kimberley Gibbons-Hurinui, 32, Charla McIntyre, 19, Jeffery Hall, 35, and Tama Watene-Toi, 52, are facing seven charges in relation to the discovery of a meth lab in Dolphin Pl, on the Tutukaka Coast, on July 10, 2016.
A two-week trial before a jury of 10 women and two men began in the Whangarei District Court today. All four are facing charges of manufacturing meth, possession of equipment with an intention of manufacturing meth, possession of meth for supply, unlawful possession of a restricted weapon, unlawful possession of a pistol, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of an explosive.
In his opening address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Jarred Scott said the defendants relied on the bach's isolation - in that it was set back from the road with a bay in the background - to manufacture a lot of meth.
The bach owners lived in Australia and had contracted letting agency Coastal Holiday Homes to manage the property on their behalf.