Vietnamese organised crime groups are believed to have converted hundreds of residential properties across Auckland into commercial-scale cannabis grow houses, often without neighbours realising what is happening next door. According to a report by Stuff, Police sources say more than 300 homes in the city are currently, or have recently been, used by Vietnamese crime syndicates to cultivate cannabis. It’s like that now with the Vietnamese being the main growers…,” Stuff has quoted. The scale of the operations has reportedly attracted attention from other criminal groups, with incidents of established gangs seizing crops from Vietnamese growers. Police investigations, including Operation Bush, launched in December 2021, have targeted organised groups involved in cannabis cultivation and money laundering.

Source: Stuff January 02, 2026 12:43 UTC