P bust on The Parade

Photo: SHANE WENZLICK

UNDER GUARD: Police keep watch over the Bucklands Beach property.

A P lab bust in an exclusive Bucklands Beach street yesterday morning highlights labs are being uncovered in unlikely locations.

A drugs warrant at a rented beachfront property on The Parade was carried out by Howick police who found a laboratory for manufacturing P or pure methamphetamine.

It was the third lab uncovered in the eastern suburbs in the past month.

Because the house was contaminated by chemicals the specialised police clan lab team was called in.

Howick sergeant Tony Curry says after an initial complaint police had spent three months gathering evidence for the search warrant.

Two men in their 30s, both known to police, are being interviewed and face charges. There was also a child at the house when police arrived.

Mr Curry says neighbours were at no immediate risk from the lab.

Drugs were not in production at the time but the ingredients and equipment were there, with evidence there had been some cooking.

He believes the lab would have been in operation for about three months.

Police also found stolen property and a car they believed to be stolen.

"What a great result for police and neighbours."

Mr Curry recommends that landlords carry out regular inspections of their properties and look out for unusual smells, plants that look out of place, boiling and glassware, and anything out of the ordinary such as an oven which could be being used for something other than food.

He says residents should be on the lookout for suspicious activity like lots of visitors and chemical smells at neighbouring properties.

Mr Curry says the rise in intelligence-led policing has resulted in the successful busts.

- © Fairfax NZ News