Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 Source: Northern Advocate (New Zealand) Copyright: 2011 Northern Advocate Contact: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/feedback/letters-to-the-editor/ Website: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2929 Author: Imran Ali UNDERCOVER COPS BUST SWITCHED ON GARDENER Three undercover police officers posing as cannabis growers busted two Whangarei retailers who sold them equipment used to manufacture the illegal drug, a jury has heard. Police subsequently charged the manager of Whangarei's Switched on Gardener, Ian Robert Kerr, 51, and his partner and colleague Catherine Anne Collins, 44, with offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. A three-day trial before a jury of nine men and three women started in the Whangarei District Court yesterday. The pair was arrested during a national operation targeting Switched on Gardener, and similar stores, around the country. Kerr is facing two charges of supplying material for the cultivation of cannabis and two of supplying equipment for the cultivation of cannabis. He allegedly supplied seed-raising mix, cloning equipment, grow lamps, an electric fan, carbon filter, ducting, a timer and two bottles of liquid fertiliser. Collins is charged with one count of supplying material for the cultivation of cannabis and one of supplying equipment for the cultivation of cannabis. She allegedly sold an electric fan, carbon filter, ducting, a timer and two bottles of liquid fertiliser. The couple was arrested as part of a two-year undercover police operation, code-named Operation Lime, that started in 2008 and targeted individuals and businesses allegedly selling equipment used for growing cannabis. In her opening to the jury, Crown prosecutor Alice Hyndman said three undercover officers assumed the names Billy, Ronnie and Russ and visited Switched on Gardener premises on different occasions using covert recording devices. Where necessary, they bought equipment used to manufacture cannabis and recorded conversations they had with the couple. The undercover officer known as "Billy" took the witness stand yesterday and the recordings from his covert device played to the jury. He first went to Switched on Gardener on January 29, 2009 and told Kerr he had been given a cannabis growing kit but needed assistance in setting it up. Kerr allegedly gave him tips on male and female cannabis plants, value of each plant and about lights, carbon filters, and the type of equipment needed to grow the drugs. Ms Hyndman said "Ronnie" also bought items for growing cannabis and sought tips on its cultivation. She said Russ bought $809 worth of goods from Collins and returned six months later to buy a lamp. The couple's Whangarei home was searched and police recovered growers' handbook, pipes and papers for smoking cannabis. Collins is represented by Roger Bowden, while Kerr is self-represented. During the operation, officers swooped on 35 businesses across New Zealand - including all 16 branches of Switched on Gardener - alleging employees sold drugs, cannabis plants and growing equipment to undercover police. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.