A west Auckland man has been jailed for 11⅓ years for manufacturing and selling methamphetamine.
Warwick Joseph Mack, 45, was ordered to serve a minimum non parole period of five years nine months.
He was convicted on June 17 on 16 drugs and firearms charges in connection with clan labs he was involved with in the Auckland suburbs of Henderson, Glendene, Oratia and Sunnyvale.
Mack pleaded guilty at the start of the trial to three charges of unlawfully possessing a pistol and one of unlawfully possessing explosives.
In the High Court at Auckland, Justice Graham Lang said the sheer scale of the operation showed Mack was not just in it for personal use.
"Any sentence for the manufacture of drugs on a large scale should serve as a deterrent to others. The rewards for manufacturing drugs are large, therefore the risks must also be considerably large," Justice Lang said.
"It's impossible to know precisely how much methamphetamine was produced. But I'm satisfied the manufacturing process occurred on several different occasions," he added.
Crown prosecutor Kate Mills said Mack was the principal offender.
A large quantity of lab equipment and materials were found by police which showed he was involved with producing a large amount of methamphetamine.
She applied for a the forfeiture of his guns and ammunition, which was not opposed by Mack's lawyer, Mark Ryan.
Mr Ryan said Mack had minor previous convictions for possession of cannabis.
"He has the support of his family, and has been drug free for 23 months," Mr Ryan said.
Police began investigating Mack as his fingerprints were found at a clan lab in August 2005. One of his associates who was arrested at the time was released on electronic bail and police kept him under surveillance.
He was seen at a rural property in Henderson owned by Mack's mother.
When police searched a workshop at the property in September 2005 they found all the trappings of an extensive clan lab.
Vast quantities of equipment to produce methamphetamine were found, and traces of methamphetamine were found on a number of vessels.
Police said the size and scale of the clan lab was so large it took six days to clear and process.
A quantity of cash was found in the bedroom where Mack lived, and a cut down rifle was found in his car.
Three days later, police searched a property in Glendene, where they found another clan lab but on a smaller scale to the one found in Henderson.
It contained a considerable amount of equipment and materials. Mack was a tenant at the property.
During his trial, Mack claimed he had already left this property some time earlier.
Four years later, on November 12, 2009, police found another clan lab after they searched a property in Oratia, which was owned by a family trust of co-accused, Ian Campbell Macpherson. Mack was present during the search.
They also found a large number of containers used in the production of pseudoephedrine and a number of guns and gun parts in a boot of a car.
Mack was granted electronic bail, but in a routine bail check of his property in Sunnyvale on January 6, 2010, police found a glass pipe used for smoking methamphetamine and a quantity of ammunition.
His co-accused, Macpherson, was also due to be sentenced today on nine drug-related charges.
But it was adjourned until next month because the Crown have applied to have his house forfeited as it was one of the properties used for manufacturing methamphetamine.
A one day hearing to determine this will be held on August 19 when he will also be sentenced. Macpherson was remanded in custody.
