Discovery of major cannabis grow sparks overnight police presence in Paremoremo, Auckland

A police car at the top of a rural driveway on Paremoremo Rd, where a police operation is under way. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Police discovered a “significant cannabis grow” when responding to a report of a firearm in an area of Auckland’s North Shore yesterday.

Police were called to a semi-rural property in Paremoremo around 10.20am after reports that a person was threatened with a firearm.

“Upon arrival police located a significant cannabis grow inside one of the houses on the property,” they said in a statement.

A forensic examination of the property is under way, said police.

A police presence was maintained at the address overnight, “as the grounds are extensive and contain a number of additional dwellings”.

The original report of a firearm has not been substantiated.

Auckland Prison, which has New Zealand’s only specialist maximum-security prison unit, is at Paremoremo.

A neighbour told the Herald that police had been at one of the properties nearby since yesterday, and police vehicles had been going back and forth all night.

The neighbour said there are three houses on the driveway police are on, but they can’t be sure which house police are looking at because the driveway is so long and winding and the bush is so thick.

There is still a police presence at the top of the driveway coming off Paremoremo Rd.