Two face charges after armed raid

A businessman was granted interim name suppression when he appeared in Auckland District Court yesterday to face drug and firearms charges following an armed police raid on a central Auckland apartment block.

The 56-year-old was charged with possession of a pistol and possession of a methamphetamine pipe. He did not plead and was released on bail to reappear today.

A 33-year-old man appeared on a charge relating to unpaid fines totalling more than $2000. He did not plead and was remanded on bail to reappear in court later this month.

Both men applied for but were denied name suppression, but were granted interim name suppression while they appeal to the High Court.

Their appearances followed a raid by members of the Armed Offenders Squad and the Child Exploitation Team.

At least 15 officers were involved in the raid, which focused on six apartments in the complex.

A police spokeswoman said imitation firearms were found in the building.

Speaking after the raid, the son of one of the arrested men said he was in bed in a downstairs apartment when police smashed the outside doors and went through apartments in the building.

He said he saw the police were armed and threw his hands in the air. He said officers then threw him onto the bed and told him he was under arrest for cultivating cannabis, though he said the plant at the end of his bed was plastic.

He said he was put in a police car for about 30 minutes before being freed.

One neighbour called the building a ‘‘den of iniquity’’.