Drug haul duo charged

of ketamine, with an approximate street value of $7250 were found. MDMA is used to make ecstasy.

A man arrested and charged in relation to importing more than half a million dollars’ worth of MDMA has been granted interim name suppression on mental health grounds.

Another has been charged with being a party to importing the drug ketamine. The pair were arrested in Blenheim last week as part of a seven-month operation into the importation and sale of illicit drugs in the area.

The arrests followed the search of a Marlborough property last Wednesday as part of a joint Police and New Zealand Customs undertaking, Operation Honeydew, which began in Blenheim last November.

Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Dye of the Tasman Organised Crime unit says about 1.8kg of MDMA, with an approximate street value of $540,000, and 29g

A 22-year-old man appeared in the Blenheim District Court on Friday, charged with 19 counts of importing a Class B controlled drug methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA), possession of MDMA for supply and possession of ketamine.

Court documents showed the charges dated back to April last year, up until this month.

At his first appearance on Friday, he was remanded in custody to appear again yesterday, when he was remanded without plea to July 3, to consider prosecution disclosure material.

He was remanded on bail to a Canterbury address, on condition that he not enter Blenheim or contact his accused co-offender.

Judge Bruce Davidson granted interim name suppression on the basis there were arguable grounds regarding the man’s mental health.