Cohens busted but age of warrant questioned

Lorraine and Aaron Cohen have been charged with importing, possessing and supplying drugs - but the search warrant police used to gather evidence may be invalid.

Police raided Lorraine Cohen's Blockhouse Bay home on Thursday morning and charged the pair with offences involving heroin, morphine, methamphetamine, methadone and cannabis.

Lorraine Cohen, aged 57, faces 18 charges including offering to supply heroin and possessing morphine, while her 34-year-old son faces 14 charges including possession and supply of morphine and conspiring to import cannabis seeds.

Five other people have been charged with similar offences.

Lorraine Cohen's defence counsel, Colin Amery, told the Auckland District Court yesterday that the search warrant had expired the day before the raid took place.

The warrant, which was issued on July 30 for 30 days, expired on Wednesday, but police did not search Lorraine Cohen's house until Thursday morning, Mr Amery said.

"If the warrant is ruled invalid, then the evidence gathered from her house will be inadmissible."

Mr Amery alerted the court to the problem during a bail hearing, but Judge Eric Anderson said a decision on the warrant's validity would have to be made by a trial judge.

The prosecutor, Sergeant Rod Fraser, told the court that further charges were likely to be laid as the quantity of drugs seized suggested that the pair were involved in a commercial operation.

Both Cohens were refused bail by Judge Anderson, but another bail hearing will be held next week for Lorraine, who contracted breast cancer while in jail in Malaysia.