Cocaine
Cocaine use increases by 93 percent in past year
A new report can reveal cocaine use has increased by 93 percent in the past year. The Drug Foundation has drawn from wastewater testing to paint a picture of drug use across the country for the 2022… Audio
Dr Rachel Nolan: The drug cartel mythos
The rise in cocaine use across New Zealand has brought cartels back into the public consciousness and headlines around the world. But are they responsible for the reported spike in drug use? Audio
Partner of billionaire's son arrested in shooting of policeman
Socialite Jasmine Hartin has been charged with manslaughter by negligence after, she says, accidentally shooting police superintendent Henry Jemmott in Belize. Journalist Tom Leonard recently… Audio
Lifting the lid on the rise and rise of organised crime in NZ
In his new book, Gangland, investigative reporter Jared Savage explores the country's growing underbelly of organised crime and violent gangs, paying particular attention to the constantly-growing… Audio
How Covid-19 is impacting organised crime
Underworld investigator Misha Glenny says the Covid-19 pandemic is going to change the nature of the drug-dealing business, working against the big organised crime cartels who traditionally control… Audio
Protests will push US officials into action - law enforcement veteran
Diane Goldstein is a 21-year veteran of the Redondo Beach Police Department. She says the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd highlight the structural racism that is rife in both the US… Audio
Inside Colombia's cocaine cartels
War correspondent Toby Muse spent 15 years living in Colombia and gained an unprecedented level of access to the local drug cartels. His new book, Kilo, traces the life cycle of a kilogram of cocaine.
…Jo Wood: 'It was a lot of fun keeping up with the Stones'
Joe Wood was married to Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood for 30 years, and she took a lot of photos of the band along the way. She has just released her latest book, Stoned: Photographs &… Audio
The hunt for Asia's El Chapo
Tse Chi Lop is suspected of leading a vast multinational drug trafficking syndicate through the Asia-Pacific region that is raking in up to $17 billion a year. Journalist Tom Allard has been on the… Audio
Record 190kg of cocaine found in banana shipment
Almost 200kg of cocaine was found tucked in duffle bags on top of bunches of bananas on a ship from Panama - heading for Auckland. As Lisa Owen reports, police are warning New Zealand is a lucrative… Video, Audio
Man sentenced to more than 3 years for part in cocaine deal
The man who went on the run for a year after a botched cocaine deal, involving the class A drug being hidden in a diamante-encrusted horse head, has been jailed. Video, Audio
Calls for national wastewater testing after meth use revealed
A wastewater study's revealed Auckland's meth problems to be significant highly than many European cities. The Massey led study analysed a week of daily wastewater samples from two Auckland and eight… Audio
Tim Watson-Munro: Dancing with Demons
Tim Watson-Munro is Australia's best-known criminal psychologist, as much for the dramas in his own life as for the cases he's been associated with. But many of those cases have been sensational, and… Audio
Two men receive NZ's longest sentences for drug import
Two men receive NZ's longest ever sentences for cocaine supply in case involving a diamante encrusted horse's head stuffed with the drug. Our Auckland court reporter Edward Gay reports. Audio
Notorious drug kingpin caught in Brazil
Brazilian police have captured a notorious drug kingpin who used plastic surgery to evade capture for almost 30 years.
Horse head coke trial: 'I knew it was dodgy ... but my house was leaking'
One of the men charged with importing 35kg of cocaine hidden inside a jewel encrusted horse's head says he was not making ends meet and his greed got the better of him.
Risotto boxes used to replicate bricks of cocaine, court told
Cardboard boxes were used to replicate bricks of cocaine found inside a diamond-encrusted horse-head statue, a senior customs officer has told a jury.
Accused unaware of cocaine haul in horse head, court told
The lawyers for two men accused over the country's biggest ever cocaine bust insist their clients had no idea drugs were inside a horse-head statue. Audio
Jury hears phones tapped in drug operation
Ronald Cook Senior and Agustin Suarez-Juarez have pleaded not guilty at the High Court in Auckland to importing 35 kilograms of cocaine inside a jewelled horse statue's head in May last year. Audio
Ali Williams says he's sorry
Former All Black Ali Williams has publicly commented for the first time following his arrest in Paris on drugs charges.