Accused P maker on trial after lab raid

A man is accused of making methamphetamine in a secret drug lab uncovered by police during a raid of a rural Taranaki property.

Kevin Martin Matthews has pleaded not guilty to four drug charges; manufacturing methamphetamine, possessing material to make the drug, namely phosphorus acid and iodine, along with the equipment to do the job.

His trial in the New Plymouth District Court, before Judge Kevin Glubb, began yesterday.

Manufacturing the class A drug, which is also known as P and has been described in the past as a societal scourge, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The charges against the

49-year-old arose out of the July 5,

2016, search of an Opunake Rd property in Te Kiri.

Prosecutor Jacob Bourke said police acted on information that a methamphetamine lab, commonly known as a clan lab, was in operation at the property.

He said officers, including members of the armed offenders squad and a specialist clan lab team, executed a search warrant at the Opunake Rd address.

Matthews was located at the property and an extensive search of the address, including the house, garage, shed and a house bus on the property, was completed.

During the search equipment and materials were found, Bourke said.

Analysis of some of the seized items found a residue of P.

Fingerprint testing of equipment was also conducted and Bourke said some of the lifts taken were subsequently matched to Matthews’ fingerprints.

In his brief opening address, defence lawyer Peter Kaye said the dispute was not whether methamphetamine had been made at the property but whether Matthews had played a role in its manufacture.

Kaye told the jury of six men and six women the same focus needed to be applied when considering the possession of equipment and materials charges and it was for them to decide whether Matthews knew about the items and if he had any control over what happened to them.

Senior Sergeant Grant Roper was the first of 10 Crown witnesses to be called in the case.

As a member of the armed offenders squad, Roper said its role was to clear the property and ensure it was safe, before a search could get under way.

This included officers making an appeal to anyone they thought might be at the address. Roper said an officer called Matthews’ cellphone and when he answered he stated he was in Inglewood.

However, Roper said a vehicle believed to have belonged to the accused was seen at the property, which led them to suspect he was there.

An appeal over a loud speaker was then made and Matthews walked out of a house bus parked on the site just minutes later.

The court heard that Matthews was not the only one with an association to the property.

Sergeant Grant Sawtell, who assisted with the search, said there was one room in the house which appeared to have recently been occupied by another man, as personal documents belonging to him were found there.

Other paperwork connected to a third individual was also found in a separate room, but Sawtell said the room did not look lived in at the time.

Due to court workers’ strike action planned for this morning, the case will not restart until 2.15pm.