A cousin of Winston Churchill has died, leaving the son he once described as a "black sheep" to inherit one of Britain's most prestigious aristocratic titles.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush says all staff “feel betrayed” by their former colleague Peter Pakau, who yesterday pleaded guilty to 14 charges.

West Auckland policeman Peter Pakau has today pleaded guilty to 14 charges relating to methamphetamine, accepting bribes, corruption and accessing the police computer.

An inmate with more than 100 convictions was taken to North Shore Hospital after allegedly hiding drugs and a mobile phone in his rectum.

The home-baked illicit drug krokodil first emerged in provincial Russia during the early 2000s.

Oamaru synthetic cannabis users appear to be turning to smoking incense for their cheap thrills.

More than 250kg of drugs was swapped with boxes of cornstarch inside an Auckland International Airport cargo zone controlled by Customs.

The fact that pharmaceuticals could be causing more overdose deaths than illegal substances means that it's possible for any one of us to encounter someone having an overdose.

She lost her mother to a heroin overdose as a vulnerable teenager, her sister Peaches to the same tragedy, and has fought her own battles with alcohol and drugs.

A man who ran a meth ring from his mother's house while he was on home detention will now serve out a new sentence behind bars.

A previously law-abiding mother has been jailed for faking the signature of the chief executive at one of New Zealand's biggest insurance firms.

An international drug importer has had five years tacked onto his prison term after importing huge quantities of ecstasy into the country.

When Antoine Dixon severed ex-girlfriend Simonne Butler's hands with a samurai sword, it was "just one more day" in a life of sex, drugs and violence.

A 21-year-old student will appear in court today after a 'commercial enterprise' of party drugs sourced over the internet was seized in Dunedin.

Peaches Geldof's baby son was left alone with her body for up to 15 hours after she died of a heroin overdose in a room littered with syringes and 'importation quality' drugs.

A Spanish drug trafficker has given birth while in custody after attempting to smuggle up to half a million dollars worth of cocaine into New Zealand.

A champion NZ boxer will face trial in the High Court on drugs charges and participation in a criminal group.

A South African woman who has been accused of importing heroin with a street value of $1.2 million has had a hospital bedside court hearing.

An international drug kingpin who fled NZ while on bail has been convicted of smuggling huge shipments of Ecstasy to an Auckland godfather of crime.

A New Zealand woman seeking leniency on drugs charges has given a tearful apology to a Bali court, which heard she has a history of depression and heroin use.

New Zealand criminals are taking inspiration from the hit TV series Breaking Bad by using campervans to cook crystal methamphetamine.

A New Zealand woman has been charged with importing five kilograms of crystal meth into Sydney hidden inside machinery parts.

Oz pensioners struggling to make ends meet are selling their prescription medication to junkies and drug dealers. Some painkillers are fetching up to A$4000 a box.

Smoking cannabis before the age of 15 could lead to insomnia later in life, a new study has found.

Wearing cardigans and struggling with a weak hip, Roger Caleb Rogerson this week shot back to public prominence in a bizarre twist to an already labyrinthine life.

New Zealander Leeza Ormsby could be out of a Bali jail sooner than was feared, with prosecutors confirming they will press only lesser drugs possession charges.

He's thought to be the worst drink-driver in the country, yet there's little keeping him off the roads.