Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“It is clear the issue the Police are facing is a matter of funding. The Minister of Police needs to front up and explain why funding, once again, is not being allocated to Police where it is obviously needed” says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“These operations utilising NZDF helicopters to monitor and search for cannabis plantations, have been essential in taking tens of thousands of cannabis plants off the streets, and prevented profit-making by drug dealers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“Now these cannabis plantations run and coordinated by big gangs in our country, will be expanded and the harm that those drugs and gangs are doing in our communities is just going to get worse.”

“The sad fact is the most affected by these drugs are in our lower socio-economic regions. These drugs are illegal and on these kinds of scales only serve to profit gangs and criminal organisations” says Mr Ball.

“With the increase in prominence of gangs across the country and the obvious harm they are creating, it is astonishing that one of their main sources of income is being let to grow unchallenged.”

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