Police have exposed Taupo businessmen, housewives and school children as drug users after an undercover operation revealed the alarming extent of criminal behaviour in the area.
Detective Inspector Graham Bell said he was astonished at how many "respectable" Taupo residents were abusing methamphetamine, commonly known as speed.
"People who come from decent homes and nice neighbourhoods have now been lured into the use of this drug in epidemic proportions," he said.
An undercover police operation launched four months ago into burglary and stolen property inadvertently came across the wide-spread drug scene.
"It was in our agent's face all the time. I don't think we've realised until now how big [a problem] it is," Detective Inspector Bell said.
Simultaneous raids this morning saw 30 people arrested in Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Turangi and Ohakune, with police seizing more than $10,000 worth of speed, LSD, ecstasy and cannabis.
A methamphetamine lab was also found in Taupo and $300,000 worth of stolen property recovered.
Detective Inspector Bell believed thousands of people could have been supplied with drugs over the past few months, with tourists also having been specifically targeted.
"I don't know what it's doing for our national image," he said.
However, police say Taupo was no different from any other town and methamphetamine use was a growing problem nationwide.
"We are confident that the recent increase in violent offending right though New Zealand is significantly attributable to the abuse of amphetamines," Detective Inspector Bell said.
"This is a wake-up call. People need to look at themselves and say are my children or my parents involved in this?"
Police were regularly coming across amphetamine users who had not slept in days, and were suffering heightened anxieties and wild mood swings, he said.
Police expose Taupo drug ring
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