MacGill’s dealer: ‘He’d do coke every day if he could afford it’

From feeding his drug habit to dobbing him into the cops, this is the inside account of how cricket legend Stuart MacGill’s cocaine dealer paved the way for his downfall.

The man who sold cocaine to Stuart MacGill told police the former Test cricketer would take the drug every day if he could afford it.

In the days after the world-famous spin bowler was found guilty of knowingly taking part in a cocaine deal, the inside story can be revealed about how MacGill’s drug dealer betrayed him.

To save his own skin, the dealer gave a statement to police where he revealed that he exploited MacGill’s proclivity for the drug into having the leg-spinner set up the cocaine deal that landed the cricketer in court.

“He would do cocaine every single day if he could afford it, but he doesn’t have much money,” the dealer told the police.

The dealer played a central role in the demise of the legendary legspinner.

Stuart MacGill leaving court during his trial. Picture: Christian Gilles

Initially, he sold MacGill cocaine by the half gram for $200 a pop.

The dealer then used the cricketer to set up a deal where he bought 1kg of cocaine from Marino Sotiropoulos, the brother of MacGill’s girlfriend, the Sydney District Court was told.

But the dealer then stole 2kg of the drug in a later exchange and left the cricketer to take the heat.

It led to the terrifying ordeal in April 2021 where the Test legend was allegedly stripped naked and bashed inside a shed on an isolated Western Sydney property.

Finally, the dealer turned police witness and dobbed MacGill in, leading to the cricketer’s arrest and the situation he now faces – wondering if he will be sent to jail.

This comes as MacGill was found guilty by a jury in the Sydney District Court of knowingly taking part in a cocaine deal between his dealer and Marino Sotiropoulos.

MacGill, pictured here in 2005, was one of Australia’s best ever bowlers. Picture: Phil Hillyard

However, the jury found MacGill wasn’t aware of the scale of the $330,000 deal for 1kg of the drug and found him not guilty of taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of cocaine.

The court heard MacGill brought the parties to the deal together through the restaurant he managed, Aristotles, on Sydney’s north shore, which was owned by the cricketer’s girlfriend Maria O’Meagher.

Golden era: MacGill (right) with Shane Warne.

The veteran of 44 Tests denied knowing why the two men wanted to meet.

But prosecuting lawyers claimed it could not have taken place without him.

The dealer told police he didn’t think much of MacGill. But the relationship was convenient because he could sell cocaine to MacGill and use him to sell to others.

“I felt that he was a leech on his missus and this was the downfall of the restaurant they had,” the dealer told police.

“My relationship with Stuart was purely business.

“I would see Stuart at times every day when he had money, and at other times it wouldn’t be as often.

MacGill and partner Maria O’Meagher.

“When I met him, it was just to sell cocaine.

“Usually it would be for one deal at a time, which was for a half gram of cocaine. Once the deal was done, I would just go.

“If I did have a chat with Stuart it would just be brief, then I’d be on my way.”

He told police that MacGill was a frequent customer.

“When Stuart would buy coke off me, he would send me a message,” he told police.

“I would know what he wanted – he didn’t have to say drugs. Stuart never messaged or called just to have a chat. When we met, it was for him to get coke off me.”

On of the four people who were arrested over MacGill’s alleged kidnapping.

Despite this, he also told police he once gave MacGill a bottle of bourbon as a gift, resulting in the cricketer becoming “teary”.

“I got the impression that people weren’t very nice to him and that this bottle meant something,” he told police.

He told police that MacGill got into debt on his cocaine tab.

The shed where MacGill told police he was bashed.

“At times this would get to around $1000,” he told police.

“Sometimes he would send me a message for coke and he would jump in my car and not have any cash on him.

“Stuart would settle his debt with me eventually – it was always very civil and I didn’t have to demand any money from him.”

After stealing 2kg of cocaine, the dealer told police he saw a news article saying MacGill had allegedly been kidnapped.

He had “heaps” of missed calls and messages from MacGill.

“Once I had turned the phone on and seen the messages, I turned it off, snapped the SIM and tossed the phone away,” he said.

The next time the pair would see each other was in court during MacGill’s trial.

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