The men were arrested yesterday at the end of a six-month undercover operation named Operation Wing, and police say more arrests will follow.
Detective Sergeant Grahme Bartlett, of Queenstown, said the targets of the operation were originally dealers selling ecstasy in the ski resort, but during the operation police also uncovered the importing of drugs into Queenstown, mainly from Vancouver.
The drugs were brought into the country either on people or through the post.
Police believed they had a street value of at least several hundred thousand dollars.
As part of the operation, local police had worked, via Interpol, with the Royal Mounted Police in Canada and the Australian Police.
Those arrested had links to Australia, Canada (Vancouver) and Bali.
Otago Rural CIB head Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Blackie said the police yesterday seized a small quantity of drugs after executing eight search warrants, primarily in the Queenstown area, but also in Dunedin, Oamaru and Christchurch.
The men face a variety of drug-related charges, including importing, producing, selling and supplying ecstasy, selling LSD, and offences in relation to cannabis.
They will appear, mainly in the Queenstown District Court, in the coming weeks.
While a core group of six local police had worked on the operation for the six months, 39 police and customs staff, as well as the Christchurch-based police specialist search group and drug dogs, were involved in search warrants yesterday, Det Snr Sgt Blackie said.
He praised the efforts of Queenstown police staff, who had spent much of the past few weeks dedicated solely to the operation.
Otago Rural area commander Inspector Mike Cook said the arrests should send reverberations through the illicit drug community.
"I urge anyone with information about these sorts of activities to contact police. Those involved can expect to receive a visit from us soon."
