A former Northland police officer has pleaded guilty to drugs charges in the Cook Islands.
Mark Franklin, 55, a former detective inspector who served in Northland, was arrested in Rarotonga in 2011, over allegations that he was operating as a local drug dealer, selling cannabis from a bar, in Rarotonga.
Franklin pleaded guilty in the Cook Islands High Court to two counts of selling a class C controlled drug, and one count of offering to sell a class C controlled drug.
Franklin was one of 13 people to face charges as a result of the police operation.
Franklin's co-accused included a senior police officer, Inano Matapo and her partner Giovanni Masters, who is the son of the country's deputy Prime Minister.