Inflation nightclub boss tells court venue ‘never a drug den’
A King St nightclub boss has told a jury she did “as much as we possibly could” to keep drugs out of city hotspot Inflation, after launching a defamation case against the state.
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A top nightclub boss has denied her popular King St venue was a honey pot for drug users and dealers saying she did “as much as we possibly could” to keep drugs out of the club.
Martha Tsamis, manager of Melbourne hotspot Inflation, told a Supreme Court jury she had never seen anyone consuming drugs inside her venue, but conceded it was “possible” people had.
Ms Tsamis spent her second full day in the witness box on Friday after launching her defamation case against the state for media comments made by former Assistant Commissioner Brett Guerin in 2014, which linked Inflation to drug dealing, overdoses and underage drinking.
Ms Tsamis said she “absolutely did not” run her club in a way which allowed drugs use to occur.
During cross-examination defence barrister Paul Hayes questioned her about comments she made to a newspaper in 2010 about young people turning away from expensive alcohol in favour of “cheap drugs”.
The court heard Ms Tsamis was quoted as saying “I’ve had 300 people in the club and there has been fewer than eight people at the bar.
People are doing drugs everywhere, it’s become normal”.
But the nightclub manager said the comments were taken out of context.
The court also heard she made similar comments to a parliamentary law reform committee saying young people were “poly drug users” and consumed all drugs depending on availability.
Asked by Mr Hayes if this was the case at her club, she said she nor her security had ever seen it.
Ms Tsamis said police also failed to find drug users at Inflation during more than 300 visits.
“(Police) haven’t grabbed anyone and marched them in front of me and said ‘here is a drug user’, not once,” Ms Tsamis said.
“Our (door) search is thorough … we do as much as we possibly can,” she said.
Ms Tsamis, who has run the popular nightclub for almost 25 years, said she was devastated by the comments made by Mr Guerin.
“It tarnished me as an irresponsible person … who is making people ill,” she said.
Mr Guerin made the comments during an interview with this paper in the wake of an application by the gambling and liquor commission to strip the nightclub of their 24 hour liquor licence.
The application was dropped 12 months later “without explanation”, the court heard.
The trial before Justice John Dixon continues.