Twenty-six people in the Waikato faced drug charges in court this year. That might not sound like much until you realise it was fifteen people last year.

That's 73% growth in twelve months — the kind of jump that doesn't happen by accident. (Source: Ministry of Justice, drug-offences — 2d.People charged court outcome)

This isn't a national trend. Across most of New Zealand, drug prosecutions have held relatively steady or declined slightly. But the Waikato — a region that includes Hamilton, Thames, and rural farming towns from Tokoroa to Raglan — is experiencing something different.

What's driving it? The data doesn't answer that directly, but the timing matters. Police have publicly committed to targeting methamphetamine supply chains in provincial New Zealand, particularly in regions where gang activity overlaps with rural isolation. The Waikato fits that description perfectly.

Twenty-six prosecutions represents real police resources: surveillance, arrests, court time, legal aid. These aren't traffic stops. These are cases that made it all the way through the system to a courtroom.

And here's the thing about a 73% spike in a single year: it doesn't reverse easily. Once police establish operational patterns in a region — once they dedicate teams, once informants start cooperating, once prosecution pathways are established — those numbers tend to compound, not retreat.

The Waikato has quietly become a focal point in New Zealand's drug enforcement strategy. Not because it has more drugs than anywhere else, but because someone decided it was time to prosecute more aggressively there.

That decision has consequences. More people in custody. More families disrupted. More court backlogs. More demand on already-stretched legal aid and rehabilitation services. Whether that's the right approach depends on your politics, but the numbers don't lie about what's happening.

Fifteen people last year. Twenty-six this year. That's not a statistical blip. That's a policy in action.

The question nobody's asking yet: is the Waikato a test case? If this works — however police define "works" — do other regions see the same enforcement ramp-up next year?

Because if 73% growth can happen in the Waikato without making national headlines, it can happen anywhere.