P-lab busted next door to suspended top cop

It was one of the most sophisticated P labs found in New Zealand - and it was operating over the fence from the Hawke's Bay home of suspended assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards.

As detectives successfully searched an upmarket Taradale home for methamphetamine manufacturing equipment, Clint Rickards was nearby, clipping grass on the lawn surrounding his $800,000 home before spending the afternoon reading a novel.

Mr Rickards is one of three men recently acquitted of raping Louise Nicholas. The men face another High Court trial in relation to alleged sexual offences against another person, alleged to have occurred in the 1980s.

Specialist police officers from Wellington, with an ESR scientist, donned protective white coveralls to comb through the evidence recovered from the neighbour's house.

An officer in the house said the stench of chemicals was so strong "it made the throat burn and eyes sting".

Mr Rickards continued mowing his lawn as officers investigated - then motored into town in a police-issued Holden Commodore. He remains on his full $210,000 pay, which includes the use of a police car.

Lawyer John Haigh QC said Mr Rickards, his client, did not live in the Hawke's Bay fulltime. He had no knowledge of the P-lab.

Mr Haigh said Mr Rickards had a well-documented opposition to drug use and a hard-line attitude to drug law enforcement.

"If he had any knowledge of such a crime being committed he would of course have reported it.

"It would be his obligation as a loyal serving police officer."

Since the raid on Wednesday, Mr Rickards' 34-year-old neighbour has been charged with manufacturing P and possessing the equipment to do so. The Herald on Sunday has learned the man's 12-year-old daughter was also living in the house.

Police attributed the bust to information from Operation Lexus - a four-month probe into car thefts in Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland. It has connected the break up of stolen cars to methamphetamine activity.

Other neighbours say they had their suspicions and had in the past contacted police. In one incident, two naked women bounced on the trampoline early one morning, as the home owner videotaped them.

Neighbours also complained about raucous parties, which calmed down recently after a local police officer moved in a few doors away.

But neighbours say their greatest concerns were over large chemical drums stacked up against the fence, and the stream of cars that visited for just moments throughout the night. "There's a lot of traffic - at all hours of the day and night," said one neighbour.

There were also concerns about the "wrecked cars" at the property. "We thought he was in the used car trade," another neighbour said.

Upper windows of the home were often cloaked in sheets.

Detective sergeant Mike Foster of Napier's CIB said tell-tale signs of P labs included a high number of "short-term" visitors, the noxious chemical smell and closed or curtained windows during the day. He said officers believed a batch of P had been produced in the past few days causing the toxic chemical effect that struck officers entering the home.

"We had to shut the house down and get out of there."

It had an unusually sophisticated alarm and closed-circuit television security system, with both internal and external surveillance systems.

Doors inside had punchcode locks. Police headquarters spokesman Jon Neilsen said Mr Rickards' suspension meant he was not able to act as a police officer.

"In terms of a police officer, he's not one at the moment because he's on suspension. You're just a Joe Citizen, living out in the community."

Herald on Sunday inquiries found Mr Rickards is leading a relaxed lifestyle. He exercises early most days, lifting weights at a local gym. He sometimes visits the Hound and Bull pub for a rugby game, although it is known there that he doesn't drink. His most recent night out there was for the Super 14 final. He left at half time.