Super Rugby
Karmichael Hunt fined A$2500 for drug possession
ESPN Staff
March 5, 2015
Karmichael Hunt faced a massive media scrum after the hearing © Getty Images
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Karmichael Hunt has been fined Aus$2500 after pleading guilty to four charges of possession of cocaine.

The Queensland Reds vice-captain, who joined the franchise for this season after previously playing rugby league for Brisbane Broncos and Australian rules football for AFL club Gold Coast Suns, was among a slew of professional footballers caught in an alleged multimillion-dollar cocaine trafficking ring.

He arrived to face four counts of supplying cocaine, which allegedly occurred between his AFL tenure at the Suns and joining the Reds squad late last year, but agreed to accept the downgraded charges. Magistrate Catherine Pirie later fined Hunt Aus$2500 but the code-hopper escaped without a criminal conviction.

"It's been a difficult couple of weeks for myself and my family," Hunt said as he left the courthouse. "We're just looking forward to putting this… process behind us and moving on."

Earlier, Police alleged that Hunt had arranged to pick up drugs from the man allegedly at the centre of a cocaine trafficking ring, John Touma, on four occasions between September 1 and October 3 last year.

Hunt's lawyer, Alastair MacDougall, said the footballer had conducted fully with the police investigation and realised the long list of consequences his actions carried.

"He'll be paying for those choices for the rest of his life," Mr McDougall said. "His ... young daughters will grow up knowing that their father has broken the law. He has suffered significant economic loss ... it's an enormous economic loss. This has been a massive, massive wake-up call to him."

Gold Coast Titans rugby league players Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling previously appeared at Southport Magistrates Court after being served notice to do so in relation to the long-running Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission Commission (QCCC) investigation. Neither said anything or entered a plea, and both matters were adjourned until May 8. They have had their bail extended with appeals for an earlier court date rejected.

The QCCC alleges the players sourced cocaine for supply to colleagues and friends.

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