Sting 'set-up' slammed

Undercover police "set up" a minor player in a big cannabis operation with sob stories about a terminally ill family member, says a New Plymouth lawyer.

Police swooped on 35 gardening businesses across the country in April.

New Plymouth shop assistant Reuben Wade, 25, was unfairly taken in by the undercover female detective who visited the Guru Gardener, his lawyer Paul Keegan said.

"Police have set him up," Mr Keegan said. Last week, Wade pleaded guilty to the two charges. He will be sentenced on August 16.