Residents of Wanganui East were woken at 6am yesterday to sirens and dogs barking as Armed Offenders raided a house in Salisbury Ave.
The sting was part of a national operation focused on gangs, methamphetamine and organised crime. It involved more than 100 police staff executing more than 40 search warrants in Wanganui, Palmerston North, Feilding, Levin, Foxton, Otaki, Whanganui, Murupara, Hamilton, Auckland and Northland.
The house on Salisbury Ave was one of four properties in Wanganui to be raided.
By 10am, two cars had been removed from the property and the police presence in the street had reduced to three patrol cars.
A neighbour said the people at 32 Salisbury Ave had just moved in but she did not know how many were living in the house.
She said she hadn't heard anything about gangs moving into their quiet little street, and she didn't want to know.
Another resident knew nothing of the raid.
"I saw a few police cars in the street but I thought they were there for something else. There have been crime problems in the street before but that was quite a while back. I'm surprised by all this."
Earlier this week, the Chronicle received an anonymous phone call from a resident on Salisbury Ave.
The woman said she had seen the Australian gang Rebels moving into two houses on the street about 10pm on Saturday.
They were wearing their patches, she said.
She also claimed she saw police in the area that night. A police spokesperson denied there were any officers in the area at the time.
In yesterday's raids around New Zealand, 30 people, men and women, were arrested. More arrests were expected.
Police seized 29 vehicles, including BMWs, Mercedes and Harley Davidson motorcycles, over $120,000 in cash, firearms, gang patches, cannabis and methamphetamine.
A drugs lab was located in Murupara and records of a Palmerston North finance company were seized.
Detective Inspector Chris Bensemann said of people involved in producing and dealing methamphetamine: "They are peddling misery in our communities, feeding addiction and forcing children to live lives exposed to toxic chemicals. The cost to society in terms of health, education, employment and the like is extortionate. If you think you want to join gangs, be involved in methamphetamine and organised crime, it will be your downfall. Police are focused on this type of offending and will do everything possible to cut off the temporary wealth of gangs, by applying at the every opportunity to have criminal assets and proceeds forfeited."
If you have information about drug manufacture or supply, call Whanganui police on (06) 349 0600. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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