Pubdate: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2001 The Dominion Contact: http://www.inl.co.nz/wnl/dominion/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/128 Author: Hannah Lawrence MISSING DRUG DEALER LIKELY FLUSH WITH CASH Missing Hastings drug dealer Philip John Cowan may have had up to $150,000 cash and $20,000 worth of cannabis on him when last seen alive in Wellington nearly seven months ago. Wellington police investigating his disappearance and suspected murder say cannabis and cash were probable motives for his death. Mr Cowan was last seen in Wellington on March 25. His car was found abandoned in Bulls on the weekend of March 29 with blood in it, later found to be Mr Cowan's. "Inquiries indicate that it's quite likely Mr Cowan had a significant amount of cash in his possession at the time he disappeared," Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Vaughan said. "We believe (he) may have had four to five pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kilograms) of cannabis in a blue barrel on the day of his disappearance. This amount of cannabis could have fetched approximately $15,000 to $20,000 if sold in this form." Mr Cowan was previously described by police as a fairly minor player in the drug scene. "We were certainly surprised that a person who had lived such a nomadic, quite frugal, lifestyle had possibly accumulated so much money," Mr Vaughan said. It was believed that much of the money in Mr Cowan's possession was in $100 bills. Mr Cowan's disappearance was not reported to police till late in May. In August, police upgraded the investigation to a murder inquiry. Mr Vaughan said the 10 detectives working on the case had spoken to about 150 people so far, including family, friends, former schoolmates and drug associates, to try to shed light on Mr Cowan's disappearance. "While it's difficult investigating a case some months after the event, I'm confident that at some stage the matter will be resolved and the people responsible . . . will be identified." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart