Jason Smith charged cocaine trafficking

[Canard]

Because Bird will be fired from the GC if he is found guilty and unlikely to be picked up on the coin he is on now by another club. It will also destroy any chance of him playing overseas.

Pleading guilty would probably cost Bird half a million bucks in the long run.

Fair point. It's bad for Rugby League though, this is going to drag out for ages. The ARU get off scott free yet again.

Like I said Hunt would have been gone also if the ARU saw him as surplus to requirements.

 

[jc155776]

they must think they have a good chance of getting off if even the retired players are pleading not guilty instead of taking a deal

It's a common ploy. Go to hearing, see all the evidence, decide if f**ked and plead guilty on the day or cut a deal for the possession only charges.

 

[Thomas]

Fair point. It's bad for Rugby League though, this is going to drag out for ages. The ARU get off scott free yet again.

Like I said Hunt would have been gone also if the ARU saw him as surplus to requirements.

 

[El Diablo]

hawt

 

[El Diablo]

Neil Breen on 9 news said the recordings of the players were of them ringing up about wine which the police say was code for coke

the ringleader apparently runs a wine distribution company that police think was used to sell drugs

their lawyer is trying to get the case thrown out because he says the evidence is flimsy

something like that

no articles on the net about it yet

 

[jc155776]

They'd have the court brief now. With the facts Police wish to present and the list of evidence available.

They are more than able to release this to the club and NRL integrity unit. They can then make a decision based on this in the interim.

Or give them a choice. Play now and if found guilty never play again as you lied to us. Or take the time off now and a punishment wi be sorted if guilty that may involve playing again this year or next.

Stops players pleasing not guilty for 12 months and then guilty at the last minute and distancing the offences.

 

[carcharias]

Wine?
A bit gay.

 

[Perth Red]

Isnt testing positive for cocaine use non punishable first offence? Why would they be banned for possession of cocaine if taking it only gets you a slap on the wrist and a counselling session? Are the nrl saying being caught by the police in possession is a worse offence than being found out to have taken it? Very strange lol

 

[seanoff]

Because Bird will be fired from the GC if he is found guilty and unlikely to be picked up on the coin he is on now by another club. It will also destroy any chance of him playing overseas.

Pleading guilty would probably cost Bird half a million bucks in the long run.

Hunt got what you get for possession. a slap with a wet lettuce and

"NO CONVICTION RECORDED"


it wouldn't stop bird from anything.

 

[Danish]

Hunt got what you get for possession. a slap with a wet lettuce and

"NO CONVICTION RECORDED"


it wouldn't stop bird from anything.

Hunt also has no priors. bird has been to court multiple times so a conviction is much more likely.

On top of which, the Titans will sack him regardless. He is on his last chance there after all his indiscretions, so he will be gone. Whatever club picks him up then will be able to do so knowing they have all the power at the table and he'll end up taking a huge pay cut.

If the case is as flimsy as it is being made out Id fight it too in his position

 

[greena]

Breaking News : Bird innocent

Bird will inform police that it was his ex flat mate (the golfer) from a few years back who ,sent the text messages. His ex-girlfriend will ring from England to offer a character reference

 

[Craig Johnston]

Hunt also has no priors. bird has been to court multiple times so a conviction is much more likely.

On top of which, the Titans will sack him regardless. He is on his last chance there after all his indiscretions, so he will be gone. Whatever club picks him up then will be able to do so knowing they have all the power at the table and he'll end up taking a huge pay cut.

If the case is as flimsy as it is being made out Id fight it too in his position

unlike k.hunt, bird hasn't been found guilty of anything

 

[Danish]

unlike k.hunt, bird hasn't been found guilty of anything

Not yet, and he is trying to keep it that way so he can keep his job

 

[Card Shark]

wine distribution company

their lawyer is trying to get the case thrown out

Must have come from a bad batch.

 

[BunniesMan]

Isnt testing positive for cocaine use non punishable first offence? Why would they be banned for possession of cocaine if taking it only gets you a slap on the wrist and a counselling session? Are the nrl saying being caught by the police in possession is a worse offence than being found out to have taken it? Very strange lol

Because 1st strikes are not publicized they don't come under "bringing the game into disrepute" the way you do when the cops catch you.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-deal-references/story-fni3grk4-1227257549227

Titans players accused of text messages with hidden drug deal references

Jeremy Pierce, Chris Garry
The Courier-Mail
March 11, 2015 1:00AM

A CASUAL invitation to a game of pool at a suburban pub is at the centre of allegations a Gold Coast Titans player was involved in supplying cocaine.

With the five Titans involved in the cocaine scandal still yet to be returned to the club’s active roster, The Courier-Mail can reveal a key plank in the Crime and Corruption Commission case against Kalifa Faifai Loa relates to a casual mention of a Gold Coast tavern.

Text messages with alleged code words and hidden meanings are central to allegations against several of the eight past and present Titans facing charges of supplying cocaine.

Their lawyers labelled the allegations weak and want the charges thrown out and the players reinstated immediately.

Faifai Loa, a former New Zealand and Samoan Test player, faces one count of supplying cocaine after the CCC allegedly intercepted text messages about Treetops Plaza at West Burleigh.

He allegedly sent a message saying “Meet me at the Treetops Plaza in Burleigh”.

It will be alleged other messages related to meeting at the shopping centre’s tavern to play pool – which the CCC will allege was code for a drug deal.

As well as being a part of pool games, an “eight ball” is also street slang for a quantity of cocaine weighing about 3.5g and worth over $1000.

Faifai Loa’s lawyer Campbell Maccallum said the allegations were “wildly speculative”.

Allegations against reigning Titans player of the year Beau Falloon include references to a text message saying “Our season starts now”, while other players allegedly sent messages to accused cartel kingpin John Touma featuring references to various varieties of wine.

Touma, whose drug trafficking case returns to Southport Magistrates Court today, once ran a wine distribution business.

Meanwhile, the Titans team announced on Tuesday for this weekend’s NRL round featured none of the players facing charges.

The Titans board has already been briefed of the case against the players and hopes to make a decision on their immediate playing future within days.

 

[El Diablo]

their evidence must be weak if they're leaking it to the media

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...259120569?nk=5ca80b5f2db1c2f26b46897e2d905d9d

Drugs charges against five Gold Coast players could drag on for years

Jeremy Pierce
Gold Coast Bulletin
March 11, 2015 11:00PM

DRUG charges against five Gold Coast Titans could drag on for years after the case against an alleged cocaine kingpin was set back until at least September.

With the players still suspended by the NRL club, Titans officials are keeping a close watch on the case against other former footballers caught up in the scandal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission alleges John Touma, a former Sydney Roosters player in the 1980s, was a major player in a cocaine cartel operating in southeast Queensland and the provider for drugs allegedly sourced by eight past and current Gold Coast NRL players.

His case was mentioned briefly in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday along with co-accused John Rowland Tobin and Peter Ierhias Kassiotes. All three are charged with drug trafficking.

Prosecutors said the complex investigation would involve mountains of evidence, including surveillance footage, telephone intercepts and financial analysis.

The case was adjourned until September 11 for further legal argument, but it could be next year or even 2017 before it reaches a conclusion.

The CCC does not allege the Titans players were part of the syndicate, but rather that they contacted Tobin and other agents to access cocaine using a series of elaborate code words and hidden meanings in both text messages and telephone conversations.

The players, who intend to fight charges of cocaine supply, are due back in court in May, but the more pressing battle has been to return to the playing field.

All five were stood down by the club when news of the scandal broke last month and they are yet to be reinstated, despite submissions from legal representatives on the players’ behalf.

The Titans released a statement on Wednesday confirming no decision on the players’ immediate futures had been made as the club seeks advice from top Sydney silk Tony Bannon, SC.

“The board remains conscious of the need to balance the protection of the best interests of the club and the game, with the need to ensure its decisions do not prejudice the fair trial of the charged players,” the statement reads.

A decision is expected to take several days, which all but rules Greg Bird, Dave Taylor and Beau Falloon out of the club’s Rd 2 clash with Penrith this weekend.

 

[no name]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...259120569?nk=5ca80b5f2db1c2f26b46897e2d905d9d

These are the same journos that said that multiple AFL charges were imminent, and that Broncos current and former players were going to be implicated. They seem to know next to nothing.

It is a concern that these cases have gone this far for what essentially will be possession charges.
They'd want to have some ball busting evidence that implicates some pretty hardcore drug activity to justify the song and dance that has been provided so far.

 

[El Diablo]

if they had hard evidence they wouldn't have let Hunt get off with a small fine and no conviction