A driver stopped by police for not wearing a seat belt sparked a chain of events which led to the discovery of ''significant quantities'' of cannabis, ecstasy and LSD along with cash in the vehicle, police say.
Constables Patrick Greaney and Leon Burdett, from the Alexandra-based Rural Drink Drive team, stopped the vehicle in Roxburgh on Wednesday afternoon. Relieving Otago Rural Area Commander Inspector Andrew Burns said cannabis was found in the car and, after a further search, ''significant quantities'' of cannabis and what police believed to be ecstasy and LSD were found, along with ''substantial amounts'' of cash.
The driver attempted to run from the scene with a bag of ecstasy and cannabis but was chased and caught with the help of Roxburgh Constable Lance Davies, Insp Burns said.
Two men appeared in the Alexandra District Court yesterday in connection with the incident and faced a charge of possessing ecstasy for supply. The routine stop turned into '' a very good catch'', Insp Burns said.
''There's no doubt that this great work from our staff will have had an impact on preventing some of the significant harm that drugs cause in our communities.''
Acting Detective Sergeant Alan Lee, of the Central Otago CIB, said the investigation into the incident was still under way and the men were likely to face more charges.
It was too soon to give a final total of the quantity of drugs found, as a more thorough inspection of the vehicle, including a search inside the vehicle panels, would take up to two days.
''The amount of ecstasy found so far is unusual. Not what you'd expect to find on a daily basis,'' he said.
The two men who had been arrested were the focus of the investigation at this stage. Police believed they had been on their way to Queenstown when they were stopped.
Two Dunedin men were remanded in custody after appearing before a registrar in the Alexandra District Court yesterday on a joint charge of possessing MDMA (ecstasy) for supply.
Trident Phillip Walker (23) and Dalton Fabian Martin Virtue (23), entered no plea to a charge of possessing a class B controlled drug (MDMA) for supply, at Roxburgh on July 23.
Tim Cadogan, appearing as duty solicitor, said the men consented to a remand in custody, to appear in the Dunedin District Court today.
