AOS squad called out in firearms, drugs arrest

The armed offenders squad was called to secure a property near Cromwell yesterday afternoon, before police arrested a man on firearm and drugs charges.

The 51-year-old Cromwell man was released on police bail and will appear in the Alexandra District Court on Tuesday.

A section of State Highway 6 between Cromwell and the Kawarau Gorge was closed for about 20 minutes while armed police entered the property, Sergeant Mike Williams, of Cromwell, said.

The reinforcements were called because of an earlier search, linked to the alleged offender, in which two firearms and a stun device were located.

Police found a small number of cannabis plants and seeds on the property.

The man was likely to face further charges, Sgt Williams said.

The incident was the fifth involving armed police in Central Otago in the past two months.

Armed officers responded to incidents at Clyde and Alexandra in October, at Alexandra last week and at Omakau on Tuesday.

Rural Otago area commander Inspector Mike Cook said Central Otago usually had a low number of armed call-outs, probably less than one a month, but it was unwise to read too much into the recent spate of incidents.

"I note that they were all resolved "without a single shot being fired".

Police were constantly reviewing how they handled cases and learning from the armed incidents in other parts of the country.

"Sometimes we'd rather go into an incident with a higher level than we need, based on the risk assessment from the information we have at the time. It's better to have to downgrade our response than upgrade it."

In a rural setting, officers were often a long way away from base so it made sense to take more gear than they actually needed, Insp Cook said.

lynda.van.kempen@odt.co.nz