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Twelve people have been arrested in relation to an online dark web drug ring in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago.
Cocaine, LSD, MDMA, cannabis and fantasy were among the drugs being sold in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago.
Detective senior sergeant Malcolm Inglis said most of the drugs were being bought on the dark web, imported into New Zealand and then sold over Facebook.
"It's a web-based Facebook site where you had to get access to it - be invited to join it - and then you source, sell or buy drugs off that site."
Police officers had been monitoring the online activity over the past few months.
"We've focused on people who think they're trading anonymously on the web, but luckily we've been able to access those sites," Inglis said.
"Over the last couple of weeks we've made 12 arrests in the Queenstown, Roxburgh and Wānaka area."
The value or quantity of drugs traded in the area in recent months was unknown, but investigators were aware of up to an ounce of cocaine being imported into the country at a time and one transaction involved $142,000, Inglis said.
"But with the net they can continue to roll over month by month so it's hard to get an exact figure on the amounts," he said.
"It's definitely a growing problem. Decades ago we used to have tinny houses, but things have become more sophisticated as the internet's grown. We've moved to this web-based dealing situation where it's thought to be anonymous, you can just go onto secure sites and try to order your drugs. It is a growing problem."
Despite the arrests of recent weeks, police were not ahead of the curve, Inglis said.
"The amount of drugs in society going and around shows we're not and we know that Queenstown, through our wastewater, is one of the highest consumers of MDMA in the country. So we're not ahead of it but we're trying our best to keep up with it."
An additional 30 officers were in Queenstown yesterday to assist in executing eight search warrants.
Another three searches were carried out today and one occurred a few weeks ago.
Those arrested were "a mixture of locals, foreign nationals, one gang member - a local - was arrested also".
They were aged from 19 into their 40s, Inglis said.
The investigation - dubbed Operation Connect - would put a dent in the area's drug trade and slow activity in the area, he said.
"Hopefully for a while we've suppressed the supply of MDMA and other drugs into the Queenstown area. We are aware of two girls having seizures here in the last month from taking MDMA ... so if we can prevent a bit of that social harm it would be really good and positive."
