Invercargill P lab busted

BARRY HARCOURT/Southland Times

STAY WHERE YOU ARE: An armed offenders squad member, wearing special protective clothing, covers a suspect as he stands guard over him at an Invercargill motel yesterday morning.

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An armed police swoop on an Invercargill motel and car at a central city intersection yesterday morning led to the discovery of Southland's first P lab.

Two men were arrested and will appear in the Invercargill District Court today charged with possession of cannabis and possession of equipment to manufacture Methamphetamine, or P.

The Southland Times understands police found the equipment and ingredients used to manufacture P in a motel unit, but no evidence of a "cook-up". Chemicals used in a cook-up would have made the unit unusable.

Invercargill CIB head Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Cowie said police and the armed offenders squad, some wearing protective suits and gas masks, raided the unit at the 295 On Tay motel, on the corner of Tay and Camden streets, about 9am.

Ten minutes earlier, armed police had stopped and surrounded a Toyota car at the corner of Don and Jed streets. The driver, a 44-year-old Christchurch man, was handcuffed and forced at gunpoint to lie face down on the footpath opposite Invercargill Middle School.

Witnesses said the man was forced to stay there, surrounded by police, for about two hours, although there were no cordons.

Meanwhile, at the motel, several city blocks east, a 39-year-old man, also from Christchurch, was apprehended after police knocked on his motel door.

He was cuffed and led into the motel carpark and forced to sit in a chair with his head against a wall.

Police sealed off a first-floor landing outside the motel unit as cleaners continued their work below. Motel guests were told to stay in their rooms but were later allowed to leave.

"They (police) kept on telling us to shut the curtains," an Auckland-based cyclist in a nearby room said.

A woman from the United States, part of a handful of bystanders gathered across the street, snapped photos and chatted excitedly with her husband.

"It's like on TV ... it really does happen," she said.

An ambulance, two fire appliances and a decontamination unit drove into Camden St about 10.30am to set up showers outside the former Pirates-Old Boys clubrooms.

Armed offenders squad members and a detective who had been in the motel unit put down any gear they were carrying before going through the decontamination shower.

Fire Service Southland assistant area manager Julian Tohiariki said decontamination involved going through the first shower to wash clothing before going to a tent to strip off for another shower inside the clubrooms.

Clothing was removed from the two arrested men and bagged as evidence before they were marched to the showers in their underwear.

At 200psi, the ice-cold shower would hurt, Mr Tohiariki said.

The man apprehended at the motel had several false starts as he passed through the jets, jumping out before being sent back through.

Fourteen people – nine police, the two offenders and three firefighters – were decontaminated, Mr Tohiariki said.

All the armed offenders squad's gear was cleaned and the police cars washed.

Mr Cowie said said the decontamination response was standard procedure when dealing with the toxic substances used to make the drug.

Police cordoned off the motel unit and two neighbouring units for safety last night until specialist staff from the Environmental Science and Research arrived to examine the scene today.

OWNERS SHOCKED

The owners of an Invercargill motel are in shock after the discovery of a suspected P lab in one of their units yesterday.

Police made the discovery at 295 On Tay motels yesterday morning after receiving information the alleged offenders had checked in there.

Motelier Geoff Shepherd said the first contact with the offenders was at 2am yesterday when a man arrived at the office wanting a room for him and some associates. It was unusual for guests to arrive in the early hours of the morning during weekdays but Mr Shepherd said he did not suspect anything malicious.

Police phoned at 3.45am asking if anybody had been checked into the motel recently and about 9am they executed a search warrant, he said.

Mr Shepherd credited how police had handled the matter. "They have been excellent in keeping us really well informed."

Three units would remained closed until they had been cleared of contamination. Mr Shepherd was unsure whether insurance would cover damages and income losses incurred as a result of the bust.

WHAT IS P?

Methamphetamine is a member of the "amphetamine" group of synthetic or designer drugs that have a powerful stimulant effect on a person's central nervous system. It produces wakefulness, hyperactivity and an euphoric effect. On the street, methamphetamine has a range of nicknames, including speed, pure, burn, goey, crank, meth, crystal, ice and ya-ba. The name P is unique to New Zealand.

- with Amy Milne

- © Fairfax NZ News