Police are targeting the region's methamphetamine industry and say this is reflected in the latest police statistics showing meth-related offences in the Western Bay of Plenty have increased 22 per cent.
Detective Senior Sergeant Lindsay Pilbrow says more people are being caught for meth offending because of the government's control strategy around the drug, an increase in police investigations and a rise in public tip-offs.

Detective Senior Sergeant Lindsay Pilbrow says police have put the region's meth industry under pressure in the last 12-18 months and this is going to continue. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

He says it is important to target meth because it contributes to other offending.
'The effects on the community are huge,” says Lindsay.
'It's very addictive – it's heart wrenching when you see the effects of it all.
'It damages communities, it damages families, it damages kids and the flow on from that is devastating.”
Lindsay says the community has an important role to play in fighting meth.
'It's really about letting us know of any suspicions residents have.
'We are obviously always keen to hear about any suspicions or information around meth, sales or distribution.”
Across the Bay of Plenty in 2010 there were 384 cases of manufacturing or cultivating illicit drugs.
There were also more than 1200 offences recorded for possession or use of illicit drugs.
Latest police statistics for the Western Bay shows crime in the region dropped 0.8 per cent last year.