Whangarei cop had little option but to plead guilty – lawyer

  • Breaking
  • 30/10/2014

A former top detective whose job it was to bust drug dealers has now admitted he is one.

Just days into a two-week trial Mike Blowers did a complete U-turn, pleading guilty to stealing and supplying methamphetamine.

On strict bail conditions at the moment, Blowers is saying nothing about why he went rogue.

"He is ashamed that he has let down people that he has worked side-by-side with on the front lines in Northland, and so he should be," says Blowers' lawyer Arthur Fairley.

Up until today, Blowers had categorically denied any wrongdoing.

The reality is the former head of Whangarei's organised crime unit, who was tasked with stamping out drug rings, had actually siphoned off methamphetamine from the evidence lock-up at Whangarei police station, replacing it with lookalike table salt to cover his tracks.

He passed the drugs onto a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

But Blowers' hand was forced when the Crown prosecutor this week revealed it had new evidence. It related to the supply chain around the drugs – that is who handled them or had the opportunity to access them.

Blowers' lawyer said it left the former detective with little option but to plead guilty.

"The candidates who could have done it were reduced to Mr Blower," says Mr Fairley.

Blowers will be sentenced next month.

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source: newshub archive