Methamphetamine supply charges dismissed

What happened

Armed police went to a private home in numbers, looking for someone else, without the arrest warrant they were relying on. The prosecution conceded the entry was unlawful. Clearing the house, an officer saw cash and suspected methamphetamine, and police then searched without a warrant under s 20 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. The occupant was charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, supplying methamphetamine, and offering to supply methamphetamine. The Court excluded the evidence from the search. The Crown offered no evidence, and all three charges were dismissed under s 147 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

The point worth pausing on

The Court accepted that police had reasonable grounds to believe drugs were there and an offence had been committed, and that the risk to evidence was real. What failed was the claim that a warrant was impracticable. The belief that one would take six hours had no support, and s 117 allowed police to secure the house while they applied.

Under s 30 the evidence was strong and the charges serious. But the search of a private home was a serious breach of s 21, and the police conduct was reckless, though not in bad faith. Exclusion was a proportionate response.

A warrant may be inconvenient to get. That does not make a search without one lawful.