Detective Sergeant Regan Boucher, of Otago Lakes Organised Crime, said a total of 170g of cocaine, 40g of MDMA and MDMA pills, valued at $88,000, were seized following raids across Queenstown, Cromwell, Alexandra and Wānaka.
Nine people would be appearing before the courts in the coming weeks for a variety of drug-dealing charges, including possession for supply of MDMA, ketamine, cocaine and cannabis.
Police observations of higher recreational drug-use throughout the Queenstown-Lakes and Central Otago districts was consistent with wastewater testing in the Southern Police District which showed large concentrations of controlled substances such as MDMA and cocaine, Det Sgt Boucher said.
Police would continue to target and hold offenders to account for the supply of controlled drugs, as they can and do cause harm, he said.
"These types of drugs cross all social sectors of our community, including people of all ages, visitors to the area and residents."
Figures released to the Otago Daily Times under the Official Information Act revealed the number of police proceedings for offences involving illicit drugs in Central Otago had jumped from 65 in 2020 to 116 last year.
In May, that number sat at 89 for this year.
With the regions set to be awash with holidaymakers and visitors, police were urging people to think twice about using recreational drugs.
MDMA, cocaine or non-prescribed ketamine could be misrepresented and buyers might not know what they were buying, Det Sgt Boucher said.
Central Otago District Mayor Tim Cadogan said people would have to be naive not to think there was drugs in the region, but if cocaine was on the rise, that was "quite a concern".
"Up to seven years ago, with some of my experience in the Alexandra and Queenstown courts, cocaine was very, very rare coming across in that space.
"If its becoming more prevalent now, that’s quite a concern," he said.
Police were urging the public to be vigilant ahead of the summer season and to take extra measures to keep themselves and others safe.
"We urge everyone to be aware of what they’re putting into their systems and the dosages," Det Sgt Boucher said.
Mixing drugs and alcohol was one of the more dangerous things people could do and drug checking was recommended for those using illicit substances, he said.
