Ratu Cavuilati: Can You Be More Pacific podcaster’s drug dealing exposed

A sports podcaster who had a hit ABC show had been dealing drugs on the side because of family financial pressure, a court heard.

A podcast star who formerly hosted a show on ABC Radio Australia has escaped a conviction after being busted selling coke twice in the space of a few months in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Ratu Cavuilati, 31, from Campsie, was busted by police selling cocaine in January in Bronte then again in April in Bondi.

On both occasions he was caught selling the drug while driving around the eastern suburbs in a Nissan X-Trail.

Cavuilati previously co-hosted a sports podcast Can You Be More Pacific with his best mate, which was picked up and aired by the ABC.

Ratu Cavuilati has been spared a conviction.

However, a court heard he has since lost his role with the ABC following his offending.

The Fijian-born Australian escaped a conviction in an “extremely rare” decision on Wednesday in Waverley Local Court and was sentenced to a conditional release order for a period of two years.

“That decision is extremely rare in terms of the court utilising its discretion for the supply of a prohibited drug,” Magistrate Ross Hudson said.

Magistrate Hudson weighed up Cavuilati’s personal circumstances and subjective case in handing down the sentence.

“There are two amazing errors which are out of character for this offender,” Magistrate Hudson said.

“In my view this is a case … where the court can start to see that there were very specific circumstances that led to this offending.”

He was sentenced at Waverley Local Court.

Those circumstances included his living with untreated depression and anxiety and his family and financial pressures at the time.

The court heard he was now undergoing treatment for his mental health issues and had great prospects of rehabilitation, and had lost a lot due to his offending.

“You have learned a very hard lesson. It takes years to build your reputation of who you want to be and seconds to potentially destroy it.”

The prosecutor Daniel Richardson had earlier asked for a conviction to be recorded due to the prevalence of drug supply.

“Noting the prevalence of how many dealers we see coming through this court … the general deterrence that the prosecution would be seeking at least would be a conviction.”

In the January 22 incident, he was caught with about 7.5g of cocaine.

In the April 10 incident, he was caught with about 8g of cocaine.