IATF seizes firearms, destroys cannabis trees

Of­fi­cers of the In­ter-Agency Task Force (IATF) seized firearms and de­stroyed more than 100 cannabis trees dur­ing a co­or­di­nat­ed ex­er­cise in the North Cen­tral Di­vi­sion on Thurs­day.

Be­tween 3.00 am and 8.00 am, of­fi­cers car­ried out tar­get­ed op­er­a­tions at sev­er­al lo­ca­tions, in­clud­ing Wharf Trace, Mara­cas, St Joseph. At one res­i­dence linked to a per­son of in­ter­est, of­fi­cers searched the premis­es but found no con­tra­band. They then ex­tend­ed their search to the sur­round­ing area, where they dis­cov­ered 56 plant buck­ets con­tain­ing cannabis plants.

Of­fi­cers seized the plants, and one sus­pect was ar­rest­ed and tak­en to the St Joseph Po­lice Sta­tion.

In a sep­a­rate op­er­a­tion, of­fi­cers, with as­sis­tance from the K-9 Unit, fol­lowed a bushy track to a lo­ca­tion where they found 75 ful­ly grown cannabis trees, along with two shot­guns and one ri­fle.

Of­fi­cers from the Tu­na­puna Crime Scene In­ves­ti­ga­tion Unit processed the scene and seized all items. They de­stroyed the cannabis trees, while they con­veyed the firearms and oth­er ex­hibits to the Tu­na­puna Po­lice Sta­tion.

In­ves­ti­ga­tions are on­go­ing.