Jason Smith and Matt Seers accused of being part of major cocaine cartel
by: Jeremy Pierce, Rhian Deutrom
February 11, 2015 6:18PM
FORMER football stars Jason Smith and Matt Seers were part of a multi-million-dollar cocaine cartel, police will allege.
Smith, a Queensland State of Origin rugby league hero and former Australian player, and Seers, a one-time NSW Origin representative, were arrested on different days in different cities but both have been charged with trafficking cocaine in what police and the Crime and Corruption Commission will allege was a major drug operation.
Attending Toowoomba Magistrates Court to sign bail documents yesterday, Smith wore a T-shirt marked Rehab Island and refused to answer questions from the media outside.
A day earlier, Seers case was mentioned briefly at Southport Magistrates Court, on the Gold Coast.
Little was said in court during both appearances, but police documents reveal the duo, who between them racked up more than 400 NRL games and 20 Origin clashes, are banned from contacting each other during their respective cases.
Smith, who runs a pub in Toowoomba, was arrested in the Garden City on January 5 and charged with trafficking cocaine.
He faces a second charge after police allegedly found a set of scales and two spoons used in connection with drug trafficking.
Seers has also been accused of drug trafficking and taking part in more than a dozen drug deals on the Gold Coast and in Toowoomba between August and December last year.
Smith is a Queensland Origin legend who played for the state 16 times through the 1990s and early 2000s and played 15 Test matches for Australia.
He finished his NRL career at the North Queensland Cowboys in 2007.
Matt Seers during his playing days.
Matt Seers during his rugby league career with the Bears. Source: News Corp Australia
Seers did not reach the same lofty heights but still played for NSW four times and represented Country Origin in a career featuring 187 NRL games for North Sydney and Wests Tigers.
Both men were also banned from contacting several others, including co-accused Toowoomba man Jason Matthew Wood, who are connected to the case.
Seers will front Southport Magistrates Court on April 15 while Smith will face court in Toowoomba again on May 6.
