Alleged meth dealer arrested in Harbour View after months of gang activity in Lower Hutt

Residents of Harbour View Rd have been supplying police with information that helped lead to an arrest recently. Photo / Google Maps

Police have arrested an alleged meth dealer after months of complaints from residents of an "affluent" Lower Hutt suburb.

Police have had issues with a house on Harbour View Rd for about six months, Inspector James McKay said.

"Those people who live there own the house, but they . . . were attracting a lot of gang members to the house."

Nearby residents were "quite concerned" with the activity and have been supplying police with "quite a bit of information" through Crimestoppers about suspicious behaviours in the area.

Harbour View is "quite a nice, sort of affluent suburb", McKay said.

Thanks to information from residents, police have carried out three or four search warrants, leading to the arrest of a 34-year-old man in relation to alleged meth dealing.

The man is in custody awaiting hearings on charges of possessing meth for supply and sale, supplying meth, and conspiring to deal meth.

The arrest has not stopped the gang activity, however, and McKay wanted to reassure members of the public police were doing all they could to uphold the law in the suburb.

As a precaution, the search warrants are usually carried out with the help of the Armed Offenders Squad, which "causes a bit of alarm for the residents".

Police will meet with members of the community on Friday to discuss what is happening around the house, and talk about concerns.

"It's really good to catch somebody for it because I know, obviously, it has caused a lot of alarm and concern to the residents. So it's good to finally catch someone and hold them accountable for what we believe has been going on at the address."

McKay wanted to remind residents that "as long as they keep the information coming in, we will keep acting on it" if there was sufficient evidence to investigate.

"We're very invested in acting on this information and targeting that particular criminal group."