Gold Coast Titans cocaine scandal: Drug charges against Greg Bird and Ashley Harrison dismissed
Titans CEO Graham Annesley says Greg Bird will see out the remainder of his two-year contract with the club after drug supply charges were dropped.
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UPDATE: GOLD Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley says Greg Bird’s future at the club is secure but a decision on his potential captaincy will not be made until next year.
Bird is the only contracted player at the Titans among the group of four current and former players including Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ashley Harrison and Beau Falloon who had their drug supply charges dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Annesley said Bird will see out the remaining two-years left on his contract but was adamant it was too early to determine his eligibility for the top job.
“The captaincy is not something we have to worry about until next season,” Annesley said.
“It is far too early to even consider the implications of that.
“There are a lot of new players coming into the club and Neil (Henry) is going to have to make that decision next year.”
Trio Dave Taylor and his old Gold Coast Titans teammates Joe Vickery and Jamie Dowling have been committed to stand trial for drug charges in a Southport court but could still be found innocent.
Annesley said despite the haste in which the charges were dropped for four of the seven players, the club “absolutely” stood by their decision to stand down the group involved in this year’s side for two games when the charges were first announced.
“The board was faced with very difficult circumstances,” Annesley said.
“The board was placed in a position where they had to make decisions based on the advice available at the time.
“Nobody could foresee what was going to happen ultimately and the players were always innocent unless proven otherwise.
“The club is comfortable with their decision at the time and believe they took the right action and still believe that they took the right action.”
EARLIER: Former State of Origin star Dave Taylor and his old Gold Coast Titans teammates Joe Vickery and Jamie Dowling have been committed to stand trial for drug charges in a Southport court.
The trio were among seven current or former Titans to be implicated in the NRL’s drug scandal involving an alleged cocaine syndicate run by accused kingpin John Touma — four players have had charges dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
But lawyer Campbell McCallum, for all three players, on Thursday conceded there was a prima facie case against them and agreed the matter will proceed to trial.
EARLIER
MAGISTRATE Chris Callaghan says there is no way alleged coded conversations between John Touma and Kalifa Faifai Loa could have been about drugs and has dismissed his one supply charge.
The court heard Faifai Loa had a phone conversation with Touma while at the Treetops Tavern in Burleigh on October 2 last year where the NRL player said he was playing pool and Touma was going to meet him.
The prosecution alleged that was code for drugs because an “eight ball” is drug slang.
But defence lawyer Campbell McCallum said the pair had never spoken before so there was no way his client could have known about alleged code language.
“That is a very long bow to draw,” he said.
“Certainly it’s mere speculation. It’s hardly even suspicious.
“It’s wildly speculative an incapable of proving beyond reasonable double that this conversation was related to the supply of cocaine.”
Magistrate Callaghan said there was not evidence before him to draw those conclusions.
“What this case needs if it’s to be brought against Mr Faifai Loa is some other evidence which would indicate that he actually did this,” he said.
“It’s just speculation as to what they’re talking about.”
EARLIER
A DRUGS charges against former Gold Coast Titan Ashley Harrison has also been dismissed.
In delivering his verdict on Harrison’s case, Magistrate Chris Callaghan said the crown had tried to argue the references to wine were “irresistibly” cocaine.
“As I made the point earlier it could well be a reference to wine,” he said.
He said the prosecution case was weak on one of the charges.
EARLIER: DRUG charges against Gold Coast Titan Greg Bird have been dismissed.
In the Southport court today, Chief Magistrate Chris Callaghan outlined text and phone conversations between alleged cocaine cartel kingpin John Touma and Bird in the lead up to his buck’s party and on the night of his wedding in November and December last year.
Magistrate Callaghan said he did not believe the prosecution would be able to convince a jury in “any way, shape or form” based on the evidence presented.
EARLIER: FALLOON’S CHARGES DISMISSED
“In my view there is no sufficient evidence ... for it to go to trial,” he said.
“At the end of the day there’s a lot of speculation. There is suspicion but there is lacking proof of Bird being involved in a conspiracy to have Touma supply to him, or through others to him, cocaine.”
Outside court Bird thanked his legal team.
“I’m very happy that finally I can put this behind me,” he said.
“Hopefully next year it’s a good football season for the Titans.”
“Now I can focus on my recovery (from injury), my family and wife,”
His lawyer Campbell McCallum said they were very happy with result and outcome.
Yesterday fellow Titans shook Beau Falloon’s hand and clapped him on the back in celebration when four charges of supplying dangerous drugs against him were dismissed.
Magistrate Callaghan deemed the prosecution’s reliance on third party conversations inadmissable and hence insufficient evidence for a jury to convict at trial.
Former Sydney Roosters NRL player John Touma is accused of heading the cartel, which allegedly supplied cocaine to code-hopping football star Karmichael Hunt and to the Titans players for events, including a “Mad Monday” cruise and Greg Bird’s bucks party and wedding.
Yesterday the court heard how Touma — who also runs a wine business — allegedly used secretly understood language in phone and text conversations to the players, intercepted by police.
Falloon’s defence barrister Saul Holt QC argued the prosecution had an “extraordinarily weak case” and it was full of rank speculation.
“There’s no evidence of complete supply in the classic sense in three of the four charges,” he said.
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