Published: 8:57PM Saturday July 21, 2012 Source: ONE News

Three people involved in the Cook Islands' biggest ever drug bust have been sent to jail for up to six years.

Former senior policewoman Inano Matapo, her partner Giovanni Marsters and the postal worker who helped them Sam Tangaroa were all sentenced after admitting the role they played in a drug ring busted last year by 11 Kiwi cops.

Marsters was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to cannabis charges, including importing the drug.

Matapo, who's also the daughter of the former police commissioner, admitted selling the drug and corruption charges and was sentenced to two and a half years.

And Tangaroa, a postal worker who would intercept drug parcels before police dogs could detect them, will spend four years in jail for selling and supplying cannabis and importing the seeds.

Their arrests followed a year long investigation into the importation and distribution of cannabis in the Cook Islands.

A total of 13 people were arrested including a former high-ranking New Zealand policeman.

Mark Franklin was a Detective Inspector before leaving the police force to work as an independent investigator in Rarotonga.

It is alleged he was a small time dealer selling cannabis from a local bar.

Originally posted here:

Jail time for trio in Cook Islands drug bust