CANNABIS-CASE BAIL CHANGE SPARES 'LITTLE OLD GRANDMA'

Bail conditions have been relaxed for the owner and staff members of a
national indoor gardening chain charged with supplying equipment and
advice to cannabis growers.

Last month, police raided Switched On Gardener branches throughout New
Zealand, as well as other gardening stores, after a two-year
undercover investigation codenamed Operation Lime.

Charges were laid against directors and staff at the 16 stores, which
were allowed to keep trading as long as they followed strict bail
conditions requested by police.

The court order required every customer to hand over identification
and give their phone number, address and date of birth.

One judge, Peter Rollo of the Tauranga District Court, refused to
impose the bail condition, describing the police submission as
excessive and an unnecessary intrusion into the personal affairs of
the public.

In Whangarei, justice of the peace Ryan Bruce also refused to impose
the bail condition, despite police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Ford
submitting that the Bail Act gave courts powers to impose conditions
to ensure defendants did not reoffend on bail.

Judge David Harvey in the Auckland District Court has now removed that
bail condition for Switched on Gardener franchise owner Mike Quinlan,
which has a flow-on effect for all those charged as part of Operation
Lime.

Quinlan could not be reached yesterday. He previously indicated he
would appeal against the bail conditions because a "little old
grandma" coming in "for a bag of potting mix" did not deserve to be
interrogated.

While the bail conditions for Quinlan now mean customers no longer
have to show ID, Crown prosecutor Ross Burns yesterday confirmed that
Judge Harvey's decision had been appealed to the High Court.

Last month, police said Operation Lime would "break the cornerstone of
the illicit cannabis cultivation industry".

Undercover officers allegedly bought equipment, were given advice on
how to grow cannabis, and even bought cannabis and other drugs over
the counter.