Operation Notus: Kawerau property, ute valued at $420k forfeited after major meth investigation

The Ford Ranger ute. Photo / Supplied

A Kawerau residential property and cash valued at nearly $420,000 has been forfeited to the Crown after a major police operation targeting meth supply in the township.

Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Nick O'Brien of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Asset Recovery Unit said the forfeiture order was the culmination of Operation Notus, a six-month covert investigation by the National Organised Criminal Group and Bay of Plenty police staff into meth supply in Kawerau and other towns in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

Operation Notus began in October 2017 and led to the arrests of more than 50 people, including senior members of the Kawerau Mongrel Mob leadership, which served as a "massive blow" to organised crime, he said.

O'Brien said the High Court at Tauranga had now ordered forfeiture of a residential property in Kawerau and the proceeds from the sale of a Ford Ranger ute.

He said both were bought with money obtained through "significant criminal activity", namely from the sale and supply of methamphetamine and cannabis, he said.

"The judgment states that the two items were tainted from being funded through significant criminal activity."

They were valued at about $420,000.

"While the dollar value of these items might not be significant compared to other forfeitures, it is the impact this will have within the Kawerau community that is most significant.

"We are acutely aware of the negative impacts and social harm caused by the sale and supply of illicit drugs, particularly in small communities such as Kawerau.

"Operation Notus was hugely significant as the gang was preying on Kawerau community members and profiting from their own whānau and friends' addiction through the distribution and supply of these drugs.

"This forfeiture shows that even after initial termination, police are still looking to target those criminals who are continuing to prey on vulnerable communities and strip them of their assets.

He said police would continue to target and disrupt groups and individuals that align themselves with them, and who profit from the proceeds of crime.

O'Brien said anyone who was aware of or concerned about criminal activity in their communities, particularly the sale and supply of methamphetamine, should call the police, either on 105 or anonymously on the 0800 Crime Stoppers line.