The men, two 50-year-olds from Kaka Point and a 28-year-old from Clinton, were arrested after the armed offenders squad searched houses in Kaka Point, Clinton and Balclutha about lunchtime.
During the searches, methamphetamine with a street value of about $30,000 was seized, along with class B drugs, cannabis and firearms.
The officer in charge of the Southern police district's organised crime squad, Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis, said police believed the activity was linked to gangs.
The methamphetamine was not made at the houses, but brought into the area.
One of the men was arrested at Dunedin airport yesterday afternoon, as he got off a flight from Auckland.
The men are in custody and will appear in the Dunedin District Court today on charges of conspiracy to supply methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine for supply.
Other charges are likely.
Det Snr Sgt Inglis said the Balclutha CIB and the Dunedin organised crime squad were pleased with the outcome of yesterday's searches.
They had had been conducting a joint operation for the past six weeks in relation to the "fairly steady supply" of methamphetamine in the Dunedin, Clutha and Southland areas over the past three months or so.
The community was well aware of the harm methamphetamine caused and Southern police would continue to target its distribution, he said.
