Ex-bodybuilder Helmut Cerncic pleads not guilty to drug supply
He once outmuscled Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding contest — and now Helmut Cerncic is fighting a charge of supplying heroin from his Darlinghurst home.
Central Sydney
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He once defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding contest – now Helmut Cerncic is attempting to beat accusations he supplied almost 1kg of heroin from his Sydney home.
Cerncic on Monday pleaded not guilty to a charge of supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, more than three years following his arrest in June 2016.
The 79-year-old’s trial hinges on the discovery of a 2015 diary in the study of his old Womerah Lane home in Darlinghurst, which the Crown alleged held “coded entries” recording eight months of drug supply.
Discovered during a raid on the Darlinghurst property on August 5, 2015, the diary allegedly details the sale of 971.4g of heroin using numbers and symbols in tables.
The alleged supply took place between January 1 and August 4, 2015, Judge Philip Ingram heard.
The Crown’s case is largely built on a 1039-page statement from expert witness Detective Sergeant Mark Carter, who the court heard analysed the diary and found its entries to be “consistent” with street heroin supply.
Police found eight other diaries from the years 2003 to 2014 in the study, which the court heard contained similar coded entries, as well as 2.5g of heroin in powder form, two small scales and several resealable plastic bags.
Inside books on the shelf police allegedly found cash in $1000 and $2000 bundles, which Cerncic is alleged to have told police in an interview following his arrest were his “savings”.
The “coded language” allegedly found in the diary was merely a record of Cerncic’s exercise routine, the court heard the pensioner told police.
Defence barrister Michael Ainsworth argued Det Serg Carter’s report was “deeply flawed” as it was penned with knowledge of the police’s brief of evidence.
“It’s all about the ledgers,” he said. “(The report) immediately assumes that one column is heroin.
“There is nothing in the ledger to say drugs … weight or a dollar value for anything. It’s just numbers and asterisks.”
Cerncic is a well-known public speaker with a degree of science from the University of NSW.
He once outmuscled the Terminator himself Mr Schwarzengger in their homeland of Austria, when he won the 1964 Mr Herkules competition.
The trial continues at Downing Centre District Court.
