Police have raided a rural South Auckland property looking for a man connected to a violent kidnapping on the North Shore - and while they did not find the man, officers did turn up a clandestine drug lab.

Police arrested another man and laid charges on him relating to the drug lab.

Police were looking for Ralph Park, 25, who was allegedly involved in the April 2 alleged kidnapping in Beach Haven. Police said he was dangerous and should not be approached.

The ongoing hunt for Park came after police stormed a central Auckland pub and arrested Jamie Perfect, 23, and another woman for the alleged kidnap and assault. Perfect was arrested the day after the alleged kidnapping but had name suppression until April 7.

Security camera footage, supplied exclusively to the Herald, showed a group of police officers entering Headquarters bar and restaurant in Auckland’s Viaduct to apprehend and handcuff the man and woman who had just ordered drinks.

Police descend on South Auckland

Officers and other emergency services descended on Clevedon, South Auckland, before sunrise on Wednesday looking for Park at a house on Creightons Rd.

Police executed a search warrant at the rental property but some of the people inside tried to stop officers.

Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said police then found the clandestine lab. Officers arrested a 35-year-old man for the lab. He would go before the Manukau District Court tomorrow, McNeill said.

Ralph Park, sought by police in connection with the Beach Haven kidnapping.

Police would continue to search for Park. McNeill asked for any sightings or information from the public, telling people they could call anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

McNeill said anyone who saw Park should not approach him.

“Call police immediately on 111,” he said.

Armed officers storm central Auckland pub

Headquarters owner Leo Molloy told the Herald Perfect’s arrest “was like a movie clip out of L.A.”

Molloy said the woman arrived shortly after the man was handcuffed “with a handful of lotto tickets, but it wasn’t her lucky day”.

In a police incident report, Molloy said the pair entered his establishment at 2.34pm and ordered food and drinks.

“Before we could make their drinks, they were restrained by three detectives, one of which was in civilian clothing.

“A couple of girls who work locally came in a few minutes after, explaining that the police had been at their venue before ours, looking for the couple.”

Court documents showed police alleged Perfect kidnapped the woman from a property in Sunnyhaven Ave where she was staying. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years.

She was found injured in Greenhithe after she was allegedly forced into a vehicle and injured. The woman continues to recover in hospital.

Perfect, of Dairy Flat, was also charged with unlawfully entering the Beach Haven home on where the woman was living, using a firearm during a burglary and wounding the woman with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, charges also carrying a 14-year maximum term.

Jamie Maihi Perfect appears in the North Shore District Court charged with kidnapping and assaulting a woman in Beach Haven. Photo / George Block

He did not seek bail and was remanded in custody until his plea hearing later this month.

The arrested woman, meanwhile, was charged with failing to carry obligations relating to a computer search.

Police issued an appeal for the whereabouts of Park on Friday, and said they believed he may have been trying to seek medical attention after suffering an injury during the kidnapping.

“We believe Park was shot, either by his own achievements or accidentally by his accomplice,” McNeill said.

Cops cordon street after woman forced into car, gunshots ring out

In an earlier statement, McNeill said a trio of people arrived at the property on Sunnyhaven Ave in the suburb of Beach Haven just before 7.30pm on Tuesday.

“An altercation has occurred, with the female occupant of the address being forced into the vehicle,” McNeill said.

“As this has unfolded the firearm has been discharged, and this has been the subject of multiple reports from neighbours to police.”

Speaking to the Herald, a neighbour said the gun shot was “ear-splitting” and there was “lots of commotion”.

She said the street was usually quiet, but the area has seen a lot of crime recently with an armed robbery at the pharmacy only a few months ago.

“Neighbours came running out to the street afterwards,” she said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

This story was originally published on the Herald, here