Ex-AFL star Fisher pleads guilty to trafficking cocaine
Tara Cosoleto |
Retired AFL star Sam Fisher has admitted he trafficked methamphetamine and cocaine between Victoria and Western Australia.
Fisher, 41, appeared at the Victorian County Court on Thursday via video link where he formally pleaded guilty to six charges.
They included trafficking a large commercial quantity of methamphetamine, trafficking cocaine, trafficking 1,4-Butanediol and possessing drugs including LSD, ketamine and testosterone.
Fisher, a past All-Australian and two-time St Kilda best and fairest, organised for a parcel containing one kilogram of methamphetamine and 84 grams of cocaine to be sent from Melbourne to Perth.
The drugs, concealed inside a rangehood, were seized by WA police on April 20, 2022.
Fisher had been captured on CCTV purchasing the rangehood and dropping the parcel at a cafe in Melbourne’s southeast.
A courier then collected the package and brought it to the airport.
WA detectives also intercepted a second parcel on April 20 that had $129,000 inside and was bound for Melbourne.
Perth man Julien Morvan was arrested and charged on April 21 in relation to the seizure.
Victorian detectives arrested Fisher on May 18 and searched his Hampton home in Melbourne’s southeast.
They seized more than 13 grams of methamphetamine and close to two litres of 1,4-Butanediol, as well as the drugs LSD, ketamine and diazepam.
Fisher was remanded in custody after the charges were laid but he successfully applied for bail in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in July 2022.
His barrister Dermot Dann told the court Fisher started using 30ml of GHB a day after his relationship broke down and he became increasingly isolated during the pandemic.
Fisher was released to a residential rehabilitation facility where he received treatment for his drug addiction.
The 41-year-old remained mostly silent during Thursday’s brief court appearance, only stating his pleas of guilty after each charge was read to him.
Mr Dann told the court he would need some time to gather psychological material, character references and evidence of Fisher’s rehabilitation.
The case was adjourned to a pre-sentencing hearing before County Court Judge Gerard Mullaly on April 29, and Fisher’s bail was extended to his next court date.
Fisher played 228 games for St Kilda after debuting for the club in 2004.
He played in two consecutive losing grand finals in 2009 and 2010, and was awarded the club’s best and fairest in 2008 and 2011.
Fisher was also included in the AFL’s All-Australian team on the half-back flank in 2008, recognising him as one of the league’s best defenders for that season.
He retired from the sport in 2016.
Fisher’s co-accused for the drug offending, Julien Morvan, pleaded guilty in a WA court in February 2023 over the seizures.
He was sentenced to six years in jail but he will be eligible for parole after four years.
AAP