Police recovered a significant quantity of cannabis in executing Operation Vintage. But the Dunedin District Court heard last week it was a thinly culinary veiled code the 55-year-old Haast man used for his drug-dealing activities. "Fish and chips" was methamphetamine and "salad", "cabbage" or "greenery" referred to cannabis. Text messages referred to "fillets" or "an order of fish and chips", but there were times in 2023 Macdonald strayed from the code. As well as the drugs, police found nearly 900 rounds of ammunition of various calibre at Macdonald’s house.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 25, 2026 15:36 UTC