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Her parents, Dianne May Saker, 66, and Kenneth Charles Harris, 73, were convicted on three marijuana-related charges and were sent home in shackles for six months of home detention.
Details of the family business are listed in Napier District Court The three appeared before Judge Bridget McIntosh for sentencing.
Kenneth’s defense attorney, Leo Lafferty, noted this statement in his client’s pre-sentence report: “Blood is thicker than water, and common sense is hard to separate.”
“This move is unbelievable, your honor,” Rafferty said.
“Oh, I agree,” Judge McIntosh responded.
The business began with Courtney-Jayne’s own marijuana habit, and she discovered she could get drugs without going to local gangs. Hawke’s Bay.
As friends and family found out, her small operation began to grow, becoming, in the words of prosecutor Megan Mitchell, a sophisticated business operation that used encrypted apps for communication and money laundering.
Mitchell said Courtney-Jayne was the leader of the group, responsible for managing the “staff” and coordinating with suppliers outside the Hawke’s Bay region.
The court heard the gang bought 230 kilograms of cannabis over a four-month period to sell.
These employees, including her parents, stock her inventory and maintain “float” to finance purchases; sometimes they also liaise with suppliers and deal with customers.
Dianne played the role of delivery driver and Kenneth was in charge of accounting.
But they could not escape gang involvement.
Courtney-Jayne had a covered boyfriend, and although she still ran the business, she eventually had to pay a “tax” to the Mongrel Mob for protection.
Judge McIntosh said the numerous letters proved Courtney-Jayne Harris was a hard-working person who contributed to the community.
However, she said another part of her life was “much more complicated”.
She had been in a relationship with a gang member for a long time.
Reports showed she had been suffering from mental illness and had been abused on multiple levels.
She has done her best to deal with her addiction.
Sentencing Diane Sack and Kenneth Harris to home detention, Judge McIntosh told them they had become drawn into a “very confusing, dangerous and complicated world”.
“I don’t know what got you into all this,” she said.
“I sincerely hope this is the first and last time we discuss this.”
Rick Stevens worked for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency for many years, including as a parliamentary political reporter, before holding senior positions at a number of daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s open justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing on crime and justice is informed by his four years of frontline experience as a probation officer.
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