Drug dealers, damaged police cells and a complicated search and rescue operation were some of the incidents police in Wānaka dealt with this week, Senior Sergeant Fiona Roberts says.
On Saturday night, police arrested a 20-year-old male on a "range of serious drug-related charges" including unlawful possession of ammunition, two charges for possession of an offensive weapon, possession of morphine for supply, supplying MDMA (ecstasy), possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.
Snr Sgt Roberts said the man was only visiting Wānaka at the time, and had since been released on bail "to a completely different part of the country".
On the same night, police stopped a 26-year-old male in Matai Rd. He underwent an evidential breath test and delivered a reading of 697mcg of alcohol per litre of breath.
A male and female duo are facing 12 charges of shoplifting after being caught by police, targeting both Wānaka New World supermarkets.
Snr Sgt Roberts said police had caught the pair with the assistance of Auror, a retail crime intelligence platform linking police and local businesses, and that there were possibly more charges to come as a result of their ongoing investigation into the pair’s activity.
"We’re not talking about minor values, it’s up to about $1200 of offending."
Last Friday, a 26-year-old male arrested as a result of a warrant to arrest was issued an additional of wilful damage after causing damage to the Queenstown police cells where he was being held.
Snr Sgt Roberts said the individual had committed several instances of "petty offending" in the Wānaka area, and police were keeping a close eye on him.
On Monday, Wānaka LandSAR were called out to Mt Burke after two hunters set off an emergency locator beacon (ELB).
Snr Sgt Roberts said the pair were experienced hunters who knew the area well, but had not given the weather forecast "the value that it should have been".
"They ended up on top of Mt Burke in complete whiteout conditions."
"They were prepared for the cold, they were prepared for the weather, what they weren’t prepared for was visibility and they got caught out badly."
She said the pair had taken a wrong turn attempting to leave the area and became stuck.
Rescue efforts were hampered by weather conditions, and the pair were extracted by helicopter on Tuesday morning without issue.
"Our team spent a night out trying to look for them. They got close to them, they could hear each other.
"They just had to wait until the weather lifted the next day to get the heli in."
On Wānaka’s roads, Snr Sgt Roberts said it was "disappointing" to hear reports of speeding motorists even with dangerous road conditions.
"I think you’ll find at the moment, if you look on Waka Kotahi, right through the Maniototo it’s like an ice skating rink out there."
She urged people to use common sense and drive to the conditions and to pay attention to the QLDC’s winter roading reports.
Police in Wānaka had received several reports from members of the public of near misses with people on bikes riding after dark with no lights or high visibility gear and were dressed in black clothes.
Snr Sgt Roberts said it was important for riders to wear helmets, use lights and preferably wear bright clothing to ensure they were visible.
She said in the same week of the fatal crash involving a person on a bike police had also responded to another incident involving a cyclist.
"I’m not comparing the differences because they were quite different. One was wearing a helmet, one wasn’t, but the outcome was quite different.
"You’ve just got to give yourself a chance."
