Former Warriors player Wairangi Koopu named as TV celebrity facing drug possession charges

• Former Warriors player Wairangi Koopu faces multiple drug possession charges in the High Court at Hamilton.
• In October Koopu was charged with possessing cocaine for supply, participating in an organised criminal group and conspiring to deal with a Class A drug.
• A ten-week trial is set to begin on June 21, 2027.

Former Warriors player Wairangi Koopu can now be named as the television celebrity facing several drug possession charges.

Koopu is fighting multiple drug possession charges along with nine others in the High Court at Hamilton.

Koopu first appeared in court in October last year on charges of possessing cocaine for supply, participating in an organised criminal group and conspiring to deal with a Class A drug.

He was next set to appear in court next week for a name suppression hearing but that was lifted by Justice Graham Lang this afternoon with “immediate effect”.

He was listed on court documents as Dane Wairangi Manuera Koopu.

Wairangi Koopu walks into the Hamilton District Court during an appearance on November 28, last year. Photo / Belinda Feek

A trial has been set down for 10 weeks beginning June 21, 2027.

The group will reappear in the High Court at Hamilton next month.

The 44-year-old played 159 games for the Warriors over his 10-year career from 1999 to 2008. He also represented the New Zealand Kiwis on three occasions and played for the New Zealand Māori rugby league team four times.

The second rower was named on the interchange bench in the Warriors’ 2002 NRL Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters.

Koopu represented the Warriors over 150 times during his 10-year stint in the NRL. Photo / Kenny Rodger

In 2009, Koopu was released by the Warriors and signed a one-year contract with the Melbourne Storm and made 12 appearances. He was named as a reserve for the Storm team that won the 2009 NRL Grand Final - which was later stripped from the club due to salary cap breaches.