How police claim cricketer Stuart MacGill set up $330k cocaine deal
The police case against Australian cricket great Stuart MacGill over an alleged $330,000 cocaine deal has been revealed.
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Stuart MacGill set up a $300,000 cocaine deal behind his restaurant after telling an acquaintance that his girlfriend’s brother could supply cocaine by the kilo, police will allege in court.
These allegations are included in an explosive police document that details their case against the retired Test spin bowler who is accused of being the “exchanger of messages” that facilitated a 1kg cocaine deal and led to him being charged last month.
Police will allege in court that the 52-year-old leg spinner was the driving force behind the cocaine deal that allegedly took shape at a meeting set up by MacGill in the car park behind his Neutral Bay restaurant, Aristotles, on April 8, 2021.
According to the document, police will allege MacGill, who retired from Test cricket in 2008, was a recreational cocaine user who purchased it from another man who cannot legally be named.
Prior to April 2021, MacGill allegedly told the man that his girlfriend’s brother, Marino Sotiropoulos, could source cocaine for $330,000 per kilo from persons unknown.
Police will allege MacGill told the man that Sotiropoulos charged an “additional fee” for providing the service, police claim in the document.
Police will allege MacGill then “discussed the matter over a number of occasions” with the man who “expressed an interest” in buying the cocaine, the document said.
Around April 8, 2021, police allege MacGill contacted the dealer and said Sotiropoulos would meet them in the car park behind Aristotle’s, the document said.
Police allege in the document that MacGill set up the meeting and was “the exchanger of messages” between Sotiropoulos and the man.
About 8am on April 8, police allege the man picked up MacGill from his home before the cricketer directed him to the Aristotle’s underground car park, the document said.
Police allege that MacGill then introduced Sotiropoulos to his acquaintance.
MacGill allegedly “remained in their presence” while “the pair negotiated the supply of” 1kg of cocaine, the police document said.
Police will allege in court that Sotiropoulos then arranged via a series of text messages for him and MacGill’s acquaintance to travel to Ashfield, in the inner west, where the cocaine deal was finalised.
MacGill did not travel with the two men to Ashfield, the document said.
MacGill’s acquaintance allegedly contacted him later that day asking if he wanted “a present”, meaning a small amount of cocaine, in return for selling up the drug deal, police will allege. MacGill replied: “No thanks”, according to the police document.
However the man is claimed to have wiped a $1000 drug debt that MacGill allegedly owed him.
Police allege this is the only benefit that MacGill received from the deal.
Police allege the drug deal was separate to a later incident in which MacGill was kidnapped and taken to a rural property in Western Sydney on April 14, 2021.
Police allege MacGill was taken to a dilapidated shed, stripped naked and bashed by men over an unrelated drug deal. Six people, including Sotiropoulos, were charged.
They all plan to fight the charges.
MacGill was charged on September 12 with knowingly taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of cocaine.
If found guilty, the charge carries a potential maximum penalty of life in jail.
On September 26, Sotiropoulos was charged with two counts of supplying a large commercial quantity of cocaine and will appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.
MacGill, who played 44 Tests for Australia before forging a career in the media and restaurant game, is regarded as one of the best spin bowlers of the modern era behind Shane Warne.
He managed Aristotle’s, which was owned by his girlfriend Maria O’Meagher, but that has since closed down.
MacGill’s arrest came as a major twist after police repeatedly said MacGill was an innocent victim of the alleged kidnapping.
The cricketer has also given a number of television interviews where he has denied taking part in cocaine supply.
He will appear in Manly Local Court on October 26.
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