Cannabis plants with a street value of more than $14.6 million have been seized during a drug operation in the Bay of Plenty.

The sting, codenamed Operation Dee, was part a large scale operation in which more than 130,000 cannabis plants and 80kg of dried cannabis were seized by police nationally.

More than 130,000 cannabis plants were seized during Operation Dee this year. Photo: NZ Police.

In the Bay, officers netted more than 14,000 plants and close to 10kg of dried cannabis material.

Along with the drugs, police also seized 10 firearms and recovered $32,000 worth of stolen property.

The six month long national operation used helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, with assistance from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, to spot and destroy cannabis crops during the cannabis growing season.

Officer in charge of the operation Detective Inspector Craig Scott says this is a "whole of crime" operation, primarily targeting those that cultivate and deal cannabis as the gateway drug to other criminal activities.

'Commercial cannabis cultivation cannot be looked at on its own, it has links to much wider crime.

'This year police placed a strong emphasis on seizing the assets gained from drug dealing and assets used to assist and enable the criminal activity.

'As a result of this, there is in excess of $4 million worth of assets currently under investigation or restraint following a court order. This includes land, houses, cash and vehicles.”

Operation Dee, carried out during the 2015-2016 growing season, resulted in:

*Around 132,000 cannabis plants destroyed.

*572 offenders arrested.

*173 firearms seized.

* Estimated $309,966 stolen property recovered.

*80 kilograms of dried cannabis plant material seized / destroyed.

*4 methamphetamine laboratories located and almost one kilogram of methamphetamine seized /destroyed.

*195 ecstasy tabs, 633 LSD tabs and 56 morphine sulphate tabs have also been destroyed.