New cannabis supply charge laid against Rarotonga security boss
Christopher Denny appeared in the Criminal High Court in Avarua on 1 August 2023 on a new charge of supplying a Class C controlled drug, alongside charges of possessing cannabis leaves and utensils. He had been arrested over cannabis leaves in February, and his case was adjourned to 27 October.
🇳🇿 Criminal High Court, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands · New Zealand
A new charge of supplying a Class C controlled drug was laid against Christopher
Denny when his case was called in the Criminal High Court in Avarua on 1 August
2023.[1]Denny also faces charges of possessing cannabis leaves and possessing
utensils.[1]Denny was arrested and charged with possessing cannabis leaves on
16 February 2023 and appeared in the Criminal Court the next day.[1]A justice
of the peace granted him bail with conditions that he surrender his passport and
not leave the Cook Islands without the High Court’s permission.[1]
Defence lawyer Mark Short said he needed to review the evidence from the
disclosures.[1]Chief Justice Patrick Keane said the Crown would rely on text
messages, which were being analysed by an expert from New Zealand.[1]The
matter was adjourned to 27 October 2023.[1]
In January 2023 Denny relaunched Cook Islands Security, a company he had founded
in 2018 to protect the tourism industry, after closing it in December 2022.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Agencies
Cook Islands Police Service; Crown Law
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Possession, Sale
Charges
supply of Class C controlled drug; possession of cannabis leaves; possession of utensils
The article does not say how much cannabis leaf was involved or what the utensils were.
No plea or outcome is reported; the case was adjourned to 27 October 2023 and later proceedings are not covered here.
The source does not state the date of the newly added supply charge, whether it was laid in August or earlier, or whether it arises from the February 2023 seizure.
Only the 1 August 2023 court sitting date is given; 2023 is inferred from the publication date and the January relaunch of Cook Islands Security.
No arrest figure is given for the supply charge, so only the one person charged is recorded in figures.
Only Cook Islands News published this court call; no police statement or second outlet was found.
The CFI registry has no Cook Islands id, so New Zealand is used as the country field while the place is recorded as Avarua, Rarotonga.
Christchurch District Court Judge Quentin Hix sentenced 54-year-old Damon Redshaw without prison after police found 234 grams of cannabis in his crashed vehicle, along with a sawn-off .22 rifle, ammunition and a methamphetamine vape.
The Ministry of Justice's cannabis offences tables for the year to 30 June 2026 show 5,690 finalised charges, down from 5,854 a year earlier, and 3,543 people charged, down from 3,606. Convictions were stable: 2,551 people were convicted, against 2,600 in 2024/25, and 558 received imprisonment as their most serious sentence, about 22%.
Ministry of Justice figures reported in March 2026 showed 3,438 people charged with possessing cannabis in 2025, up from 2,881 in 2024 and 2,287 in 2023, the highest number since a 2019 law change told police to consider a health-based response first.
Joseph Wachter was convicted in 2023 after pleading guilty to cultivating cannabis and supplying a Class C drug over more than 30 plants seized in Arorangi in 2021, and the High Court put his sentencing off to 4 October 2024. He had been bailed in 2021 on charges over the same seizure.