Officers have been targeting MDMA dealers this year after wastewater testing revealed the Southern police district — including Otago and Southland — was the worst in the country for the drug.
The drug, also known as ecstasy, made up the greatest proportion of drugs found in wastewater across several areas, including 80% in Queenstown, 73% in Dunedin at Tahuna and 65% in Green Island.
Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis, of Queenstown, said what worried police most were the other chemicals being sold under the guise of MDMA.
Officers had had to call ambulances on nights out due to people having life-threatening reactions.
He said recent raids had revealed pills contained N-Ethylpentylone (bath salts) and mephedrone.
The latter, also known as M-Cat or Meow Meow, hit the headlines in 2010 when, as a legal high, it was connected to 25 deaths in the United Kingdom.
It has since led to emergency hospital admissions across New Zealand.
Yesterday, police confirmed a 51-year-old man had been arrested in Queenstown on firearms charges after a two-month investigation run by the police’s National Organised Crime Group.
His arrest followed two others on Sunday and Monday, following warrants issued in Northland, Auckland and Waikato.
Police seized more than 2kg of methamphetamine, alongside LSD, heroin, cocaine, MDMA, several hundred thousand dollars in cash and eight firearms.
A police media spokesman would not confirm what was recovered during the Queenstown arrest.
However, speaking specifically about MDMA, Det Snr Sgt Inglis said it was being sold to unsuspecting young people by those willing to sell anything to make money, no matter the harm.
Bath salts were even more dangerous and were three times more powerful than MDMA, he said.
Side effects included rapid muscle breakdown, paranoia, an inability to sleep for 36 hours and even psychosis.
In July, the Otago Daily Times reported a 19-year-old student in Dunedin was found trying to scratch his eyes out after taking MDMA laced with bath salts.
Det Snr Sgt Inglis said there had been several foreigners in court recently thinking they could fund their stays in New Zealand through drug dealing.
He further raised concerns about the number of gang members spotted in Queenstown, warning they brought the threat of guns and violence.
He urged the community to reject gangs and make it known patched members were not welcome.
New Zealand Drug Foundation programmes deputy executive director Ben Birks Ang said first-time users and those away on a "crazy" weekend such as a stag party were most at risk from contaminated pills.
Dealers would be less concerned with providing good product, users were not fully aware of the intended effects and there would be little knowledge of what precautions to take, Mr Birks Ang said.
He urged anybody willing to break the law and ignore health risks to take small doses - such as a third of a pill - in case the MDMA turned out to be something worse.
He further said they should seek medical assistance immediately if they became concerned.
The foundation reported last week that MDMA use was increasing in New Zealand; 2.4million pills were confiscated by police and customs in 2019 compared with 350,000 in 2018.
