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Police have busted a massive Vietnamese organised crime ring allegedly operating out of rental properties in East Auckland, finding almost 1000 cannabis plants at 20 houses powered by stolen electricity.
Senior Sergeant Al Grant of Counties Manukau East police said the rental properties were being used for the growing operations without the owners’ knowledge.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of electricity was allegedly being stolen and fed into dodgy wiring to operate the “extremely dangerous electrical installations” at the properties, Grant said. Some houses have burned down due to amateur work.
Police and the Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation (MBIE) targeted 20 houses across East Auckland this week.
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Officers found and destroyed 953 cannabis plants along with 13kg of the Class C drug.
Police estimated $293,323 worth of electricity had been stolen at properties in Somerville, Botany Downs, Pakuranga and Ōtara.
Police have not made any arrests.
“These syndicates are operating across Auckland, significantly modifying rental properties to cultivate cannabis with extremely dangerous electrical installations,” Grant said.
“In some instances, this dodgy wiring has caused homes to burn to the ground, and it’s extremely fortunate there has been no loss of life.”
Grant said fuses were replaced at the rental properties police had already searched, but this was easier said than done.
“Some of the fuses were so hot an electrician could not touch them, and the wire had melted – they were ready to catch fire,” he said.
“We’d estimate millions of dollars worth of electricity is being stolen every year to run these operations overall.”
Grant said the crime syndicates were “well connected to gangs and this cannabis is a large source of income for their illegal operations”.
The houses being converted for growing operations “may seem innocent enough and do not really attract neighbours’ attention”, he said.
The foreign nationals who have been minding or guarding the operations have often been revealed to have been duped into coming to New Zealand with false promises of legitimate employment, Grant said.
Once these people have entered the country, they have been forced into illegal labour to repay debt incurred to get here.
MBIE general manager of immigration compliance Steve Watson said they were investigating the involvement of “a number of employers”.
“Migrant workers need to be aware that if they are being asked to pay large amounts of money to an offshore agent to travel and work in New Zealand, it is highly likely that this is part of a fraudulent scam.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.