Senior cop faces drug charges

A former Whangarei senior policeman is facing charges of supplying methamphetamine and cannabis while he was in charge of Northland's Organised Crime Unit.

The identity of a former Government employee in Northland accused of selling methamphetamine and cannabis to a

woman has been revealed as a former Whangarei police Detective Sergeant and one time head of the region's drug squad Mike Blowers.

Name suppression ended for Blowers at 5pm today after his lawyer decided not to appeal the lifting of name suppression to the Court of Appeal.

Blowers is facing a charge of supplying the Class A drug methamphetamine and another of selling cannabis to a person over the age of 18. Supplying methamphetamine, or P as it is known, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Police allege both offences happened between June 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012 while Blowers was still employed in a senior position by police in Whangarei. At the end of that period Blowers headed the Northland Organised Crime Unit, which looked into drug offending in the region.

Blowers has been fighting to keep his identity secret since he was first arrested in April. A district court judge initially granted interim suppression of his name, occupation and any details that may identify him.

That suppression order was later lifted by another district court judge, but Blowers was granted further suppression

until an appeal against the lifting of name suppression was heard by the High Court.

In a decision released on Friday, Justice Rebecca Ellis dismissed the appeal, but ordered that no details about the man

be published until 5pm on Monday to enable him to instruct his lawyer on whether to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

 If leave to appeal is sought, the man will then have to apply for suppression to continue until the Court of Appeal

hearing.

Blowers has also been ordered not to apply for another passport or travel document. He must not contact the complainant or any associates named by the prosecution.At the moment there is only one complainant _ the woman he allegedly

supplied the drugs to.