CANNABIS GOES AS COPTER SWOOPS

COROMANDEL - Police claim they have wiped out most of Coromandel's
cannabis harvest in a seven-day operation that netted two guns and
thousands of plants.

They said a helicopter sprayed weedkiller on 400 plots of cannabis,
each with up to 50 plants, and officers ripped out more than 1000
other plants during the hit, which was part of the nationwide
Operation Michelle.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bruce Currie said 11 people were arrested
for allegedly growing and possessing the class C drug for sale, and
two guns were found.

Every dope-growing area of the Coromandel had been scanned, he said.
The peninsula is regarded as one of the leading cannabis areas.

The police Eagle helicopter and the Waikato armed offenders squad were
still busy yesterday hunting several people believed to be armed and
guarding plots near Paeroa.

The squad arrested two men before midday on Sunday, but they had no
guns.

Detective Senior Sergeant Rex Miller said Operation Michelle aimed to
wipe out the summer dope harvest. The Coromandel sweep had been
boosted from three days last year to seven.

He said the police team would probably move on to other areas of the
central North Island, but refused to say where because he wanted to
keep growers in the dark.

"I'm not telling you," he said. "But we know everything.'

Police yesterday claimed the operation had been a success, despite bad
weather causing several interruptions. They said aerial spraying had
been successful and would become more effective as staff grew in
confidence with the technique.