As reported on Saturday, armed Police were seen preparing to raid the Gothic Heights Motel at about midnight Friday in Central Christchurch.
During the raid, four Police cars, including a dog patrol car, were parked along Moorhouse Avenue-with all car lights off-in readiness for a search reminiscent of a scene from Hollywood film, American Sniper. Despite the heavily armed presence and high level of tension, Police had not cordoned off the motel and the motel front gate was unguarded and publicly accessible.
A spokesperson for Gothic Heights Motel, who wished to remain anonymous, said the motel has “Police call outs from time to time”. The raid did worry her. The armed callout “…was kind of misunderstanding.” “We didn't call police...as far as I'm aware it wasn't true.”
On that night, according to the spokesperson, the motel reception received a call from Police. She said Police “had received some information. The motel cooperated with Police who said to “stay where you are.”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The New Zealand Reporter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.