Six people face a total of 189 charges in a major drug trial underway in the High Court in Wellington.

Clint Helmbright, Lewis Padden, Nicholas Van Der Wiel, Clarke Persico, Elizabeth Morrison and another woman with name suppression face a variety of charges involving the possession, supply and sale of methamphetamine, cannabis and BZP.

Helmbright, the alleged ring leader, faces 130 charges.

The trial, which started this morning, stems from a nationwide police operation which saw almost two million dollars in assets seized in 2013.