Alleged kidnapper told police Stuart MacGill was to benefit from 2kg cocaine deal: court
Bombshell court documents have revealed claims that Stuart MacGill was to benefit from a failed $660,000 cocaine deal. Meanwhile, his girlfriend told police she hid the crying cricketer in a hotel room after his alleged kidnapping.
NSW
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A man accused of kidnapping Stuart MacGill has claimed the cricket legend was to receive a benefit from a 2kg cocaine deal, according to documents tendered to court.
The claim was revealed in court documents tendered to Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday, when one of the men accused of plotting to kidnap the famed Test leg spinner was refused bail.
The retired cricketer told police he was forced into a car outside his north shore home on April 14 and driven 60km to a Bringelly farm, where police allege he was bashed.
MacGill has not been charged and police do not allege he had any involvement in any drug deal.
Marino Sotiropoulos, 46, the brother of MacGill’s girlfriend, Maria O’Meagher, is one of four men charged over the kidnapping.
Police allege in court documents that MacGill unwittingly introduced Sotiropoulos to a patron named “Sonny”, who was also known as “Zac”, at his Neutral Bay restaurant.
According to the court documents Sonny bought 2kg of cocaine from Sotiropoulos for $660,000.
But police will allege that when Sonny failed to pay, MacGill was allegedly blamed and ordered to pay $150,000.
The court documents also revealed that an undercover police officer — posing as an intermediary for MacGill — approached Sotiropoulos and engaged him in a series of text message exchanges on the encrypted messaging app Signal.
In a May 4 text message, Sotiropoulos allegedly wrote that his up-line suppliers now held MacGill responsible for the failed deal. He allegedly justified this by explaining that MacGill was to receive a benefit from the failed deal, according to the court documents.
“You need to understand that Stu is the customer to them, not Zac,” Mr Sotiropoulos is alleged to have written. “It’s unfortunate that Zac did this to him but it’s Stu’s customer, therefore Stu’s responsibility.
“(MacGill) vouched for Zac, even benefiting from (the) exchange,” Mr Sotiropoulos allegedly wrote. “The responsibility lies with him.”
The details were revealed in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday, when one of the four men charged over the alleged kidnapping, Son Minh “Sammy” Nguyen, was refused bail.
After the arrests, police said MacGill had committed no crime.
In court, Nguyen’s lawyer said the documents cast doubt on MacGill’s account.
“One starts to wonder whether Mr MacGill is a reliable witness,” lawyer Greg Goold told the court. “One wonders, your Honour, whether there was indeed a kidnapping.”
Sotiropoulos also allegedly texted to the undercover that there would be “consequences” if Sony was not located.
“The guys have a lot on Stu, photos of him,” Sotiropoulos allegedly wrote. “They will do everything they can to help Stu retrieve his money, but right now he needs to cover the debt,” Sotiropoulos allegedly wrote. “No more pointing fingers and conditions. You said you’d help Stu. Your words. We’re back to square one now because you haven’t done anything to help Stu … but stall every time.”
Sotiropoulos also allegedly warned: “Stu will be responsible for innocent ppl getting hurt. They don’t want to waste anymore time.”
Nguyen will appear in Manly Local Court on June 30.
I HID CRYING STUART IN HOTEL
It was the phone call that dragged Maria O’Meagher into the alleged kidnapping saga of Test cricket legend Stuart MacGill.
“There’s been a rip,” the voice on the other end of the call allegedly said.
“What’s a rip?” Ms O’Meagher responded.
This is what Ms O’Meagher has said in her statement to police about the events surrounding the alleged kidnapping of MacGill, her boyfriend and the manager of her Neutral Bay restaurant Aristotle’s.
Ms O’Meagher’s brother Marino Sotiropoulos, 46, has been charged with orchestrating the April 14 alleged abduction and supplying a large commercial quantity of cocaine.
In her statement, Ms O’Meagher said Mr Sotiropoulos called her before the alleged kidnapping, while she was shopping in Bondi Junction.
Police will allege Mr Sotiropoulos told Ms O’Meagher that a drug deal with a person called “Sonny” had fallen through and he believed MacGill should pay up because he’d introduced Mr Sotiropoulos to Sonny.
Ms O’Meagher told police that her brother said: “What’s Stuart’s address.”
Police allege MacGill was kidnapped over a botched cocaine deal.
In court, police will allege that MacGill unwittingly introduced Mr Sotiropoulos to a patron at his restaurant named Sonny. MacGill has not been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing.
Police will allege that Sonny bought 2kg of cocaine from Mr Sotiropoulos for $660,000. But, when Sonny failed to pay, MacGill was allegedly ordered to pay $150,000.
Police will allege he was forced into a car outside his home on Sydney’s north shore about 8pm and was driven 60km to a shed on a Bringelly farm, where he was stripped naked and bashed.
Ms O’Meagher told police Sonny had been a patron of her restaurant for about 2½ years before the COVID-19 pandemic, was from Ryde, and she had seen him at her eatery three or four times.
She described him as in his mid-20s, Middle Eastern, chubby, with a full beard, egg-shaped head and golden-brown eyes.
According to MacGill’s police statement, he didn’t know Sonny’s surname, but he would buy the cricketer Christmas presents and buy flowers for Ms O’Meagher.
“I think he’s either from Mosman, Kirribilli or Granville,” MacGill told police.
MacGill told police he introduced Sotiropoulos to Sonny, but had no idea why they wanted to meet.
At 6.30pm on April 14, Ms O’Meagher said she was having dinner at McMahons Point when Mr Sotiropoulos called again.
“Get Stuart to ring me. He has to see me. He has to identify the photo of Sonny,” Ms O’Meagher told police her brother said.
Ms O’Meagher told police she responded: “I can do it. Come to the restaurant.”
She told police her brother called back and said: “F … ing just get Stuart to see me” and she responded: “No. Not doing it. Just leave us alone.”
She told police she sent MacGill a message warning him not to see Sotiropoulos. Around midnight Ms O’Meagher received two emails from MacGill. One said: “Come please”.
“Stuart was hysterical and he was crying and screaming,” Ms O’Meagher told police.
She hid MacGill in a hotel.
Ms O’Meagher told police that when Sotiropoulos called her on their father’s phone and said: “Find Stuart”, she had replied: “I haven’t heard from him” and told him that she had broken up with the cricketer.
Because Ms O’Meagher’s parents’ phones are linked to hers via iCloud, Ms O’Meagher told police she could see one of their phones had been used to call a surveillance company called Spy City, she told police.
Ms O’Meagher turned off her location services and deleted messages linked to MacGill, she told police.
Ms O’Meagher also told police she had a volatile relationship with her brother.
“Marino and I tried to open a restaurant together which fell apart after six months due to disagreements,” she told police. “We always argued and there were times we didn’t speak.”
Ms O’Meagher told police she had been dating MacGill for four years and opened Aristotle’s “on my own” in 2016.
“About 18 months later, Stuart joined Aristotle’s to replace a manager that we had caught stealing,” she told police. “Stuart helps with managing Aristotle’s.
“People like talking to Stuart so customers would come in to speak to him.”
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