49-year-old held on Rarotonga with 71 cannabis plants
Cook Islands police arrested and charged a 49-year-old man caught with 71 cannabis plants, which police described as a well-constructed and organised crop of seedlings. He was remanded in prison after appearing in court on the Saturday, with a further appearance due that week.
Cook Islands police arrested a 49-year-old man caught with 71 cannabis plants.[1]Police strategic and media advisor Trevor Pitt said the man was arrested
and charged on Friday over what he described as a well-constructed and organised
crop of cannabis seedlings.[1]He was remanded into prison on Saturday after
appearing in court.[1]
He was to appear in court again the following week.[1]
The same police roundup reported three rental-car crashes on Rarotonga roads
over the past weekend.[1]It also reported the separate arrest of a man
charged with assaulting a child and a woman after a domestic incident on
Saturday night.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article dates the arrest only as "Friday" and the remand as "Saturday"; 19 July 2024 is inferred as the Friday before the 23 July 2024 publication date, with the court appearance on 20 July.
No place more precise than Rarotonga is named for the arrest or the crop, so the coordinates are for the island with region precision.
No source states whether the 71 plants were seized, uprooted or destroyed; the figure counts the plants found.
The charge wording, the man's plea and any later court outcome are not reported.
Only one account of this arrest was found; no police statement or second outlet could be opened.
The three rental crashes and the separate domestic-assault arrest in the same roundup are distinct events; their people are excluded from the figures.
The Cook Islands has no separate tracker country entry, so the draft uses the New Zealand country entry as the existing Rarotonga reports do.
Police found $54,000 in a shoebox when they stopped an 18-year-old's car on Theodosia Street in Timaru, and a search of his home turned up more cash and a small amount of drugs. The Christchurch teenager appeared in the Timaru District Court the same day charged with supply and possession for supply of cannabis, and was remanded on bail until 1 December.
A three-month operation ended with search warrants at two New Plymouth properties, six arrests and the seizure of cash, cannabis, methamphetamine, a rifle and a homemade taser. A 27-year-old woman faces cannabis supply charges and was remanded until 29 October.
A 37-year-old man was charged with importing Class A and Class C controlled drugs, alleged to be methamphetamine and cannabis, after Cook Islands Customs officers detected the drugs at the Aitutaki International Wharf on 14 April 2026. Customs and police issued a joint statement on the case.
Cook Islands Police arrested a 36-year-old man at Rarotonga International Airport after Customs found more than a kilogram of cannabis in two packages in his luggage. He was remanded in custody after a court appearance on the Saturday, 22 November 2025.
