Cowboy Paradise alleged underground cannabis bunker trial: Police snuck in under cover of darkness

Armed police were able to enter a Milltown property undetected and under the cover of darkness three times as part of a covert operation that cracked an alleged underground drug bunker venture at Cowboy Paradise.

Owner of the Wild West-themed accommodation and shooting range business, Michael Kevin Milne, 68, and Ngahere man Anthony Wayne Harris, 77, are being tried by jury in the Greymouth District Court this week on a raft of drug charges, including cultivating cannabis, possession of cannabis for supply and selling the drug.

The first witness called yesterday by the Crown was Constable Glen Collins, who entered the bunker – twice the size of an average house – on three occasions between July and August 2019 as part of Operation Heron, which was led by Christchurch police.

Jurors were shown photographs and a video taken inside by Collins showing some of the 12 hydroponic growing bays inside the bunker.

The plants were in various stages and sizes. There was also a nursery and a number of named plants with labels such as Northern Lights, Banana Kush, and Gorilla Glue with different descriptions such as “strong ASF”, which Collins said he took to mean “strong as f***”.

Collins, an evidential officer for a special tactics group, was one of two police to enter the bunker for the first time on July 16, 2019.

As part of the team’s surveillance, hidden cameras were installed in the bush on a subsequent visit, focused on the entrance to the bunker which was via a shipping container sitting above ground. Inside that was a wooden trap door with a ladder leading down into the bunker.

Cross-examined by Milne’s lawyer, Anselm Williams, Collins said the special tactics group provided emergency and planned responses to higher level jobs – “anything involving greater risk to community”.

After a briefing in Christchurch involving about a dozen officers, Collins travelled the next day to the West Coast as part of a smaller team.

Earlier in the day, three officers rode on bicycles through the site – at the top of the West Coast Wilderness Trail in the Arahura Valley.

That night, they re-entered the property by foot, armed, and wearing camouflage clothing, with night vision equipment.

Collins’ job inside the bunker was to document what was found and what he saw.

On their first visit, the lights were off. On the second visit, on August 8, the lights were on and a video taken on his cellphone was submitted as evidence in the trial.

The third and final visit was on August 22.

Collins said entry was in the same way, by foot. Each time the officers were armed. Those stationed above ground were there to watch for “early warning signs”.

Samples of the plants were taken on the first two occasions.

On the third visit, he took the SD card out of the covert camera and secured the footage.

Williams asked if the special tactics group had been briefed about Milne prior to entering the property.

Collins said they had.

“Were there concerns about firearms?” Williams asked.

“Yes,” Collins replied.

They were aware there were shooting ranges on the property, he said.

While no weapons were found at Cowboy’s Paradise, a stun gun, pepper spray and ammunition were found during a later search of Harris’ home, at Blackball at the time.

Harris’ lawyer Marcus Zintl did not cross-examine Collins.

A second police witness who analysed the CCTV footage also took the stand yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Daniel Shields of Nelson said his job was to analyse the 171 activations over about three weeks in August.

He will also give evidence later in the trial on the exhibits taken as part of the official search warrant.

Shields said the camera was on a motion sensor, and recorded when movement was detected.

Still photographs showed visits to the shipping container on an almost daily basis at various times of the morning and night, the court heard.

On at least one occasion, a man can be seen leaving with a large black rubbish bag.

Telco polling data from Milne’s and Harris’ cellphones was also submitted as evidence from the officer in charge, Detective Jonathan Hauschild.

Police had access to the pair’s call data and text messages from January 2017 to September 2019. Their locations were also traceable, the court heard.

The data showed Harris regularly travelled to Christchurch.

Zintl said previously Harris, a semi-retired gold prospector, did not dispute knowing Milne, or knowing that he was growing cannabis.

What was disputed was that he sold any cannabis on Milne’s behalf or regularly carried it to Canterbury.

The trial is set down for three weeks.

– Hokitika Guardian