5 in dock over motel P-lab

Five men appeared in court yesterday on manufacturing and supply charges after police busted a clandestine P lab in Newmarket and shut down part of the motel it was housed in.

The arrests at the Jacaranda Motor Inn on Manukau Rd were the result of an ongoing investigation by the Auckland metro crime and operations drug squad. Police said six men were arrested, but only five appeared at the Auckland District Court.

These were two 28-year-olds from the North Shore, a 47-year-old from Helensville, a 45-year-old chef from Blockhouse Bay and a 41-year-old man from central Auckland.

Police say the closure of the motel, which has a Chinese restaurant attached to it, was to allow a specialist drug laboratory team to make the scene safe for officers to search. They said investigations were likely to take several days, and the operation targeted other Auckland locations.

Kayla Reihana, a stylist from Sanctuary Hair Salon across the road, was surprised to learn about the alleged methamphetamine operation.

"It's quite hard because it's got the restaurant and the motel there," she said. "There are cars coming and going quite often so we weren't suspicious."