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A $700,000 cannabis crop is at the centre of the year's largest drug trial in Hamilton District Court.
Over the next month, 54 witnesses -- mostly police officers -- will give evidence on the comings and goings at Ross Williams' Kereta property, north of Thames, following a surveillance operation in early
2002.
Williams, 46, faces a charge of selling cannabis, and two charges of cultivation.
In addition, Williams' two sons, Douglas, 25, and Darryl, 23, and Darryl Abraham, 43, and his son Hayden Abraham, 20, face a charge of cultivating cannabis and two charges of selling cannabis. They deny the charges.
Yesterday, Crown solicitor Ross Douch told the jury when police stumbled on the operation in February 2002, they found three of what turned out to be five cannabis plots on Conservation Department land at the back of the property.
The plots contained 370 plants, but when police moved in to make their arrests on March 26 most of the cannabis plants had been harvested, leaving only about 150.
Mr Douch said police calculated the total crop would have netted 129kg of cannabis with a $700,000 street value.
Darryl Williams and Hayden Abraham were the first to be arrested after police watched them allegedly harvest one of the plots.
The court was told that while being interviewed the pair claimed responsibility for all five plots. Darryl Williams told police he planned to smoke the drugs himself, while Hayden Abraham said Darryl Abraham was taking the drugs to sell.
During the surveillance operation, Mr Douch said police watched as a drug deal unfolded after a van drove up to the property. The Crown says the three remaining accused were involved, which resulted in a black plastic rubbish bag being placed in the van.
Police claim they later found the bag containing 2.27kg of cannabis. As a result, the three were arrested. Mr Douch said when police searched the property they found a drying operation, receipts for gas bottle refills, and a plan which timetabled the exchange and running of those bottles.
The Crown said police inquiries also revealed that before living in Kereta, Williams lived at Miranda, southwest of Thames.
When police searched that property they found cannabis plots similar to those at Kereta and a shed police say was used for drying cannabis.
- NZPA
