Ex-Saint Sam Fisher bailed, to enter rehabilitation in Woodend
The former Saint has been freed under strict conditions after he was slapped with shock drug trafficking charges last month.
Police & Courts
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Former AFL star Sam Fisher has been granted bail on the condition he immediately checks into a rehabilitation facility to tackle his “escalating” drug addiction.
The ex-St Kilda defender will be released on Tuesday from Ravenhall Correctional Centre, where he has been on remand since his arrest on drug trafficking allegations on May 18.
He will be escorted to an Arrow Health rehabilitation clinic in Woodend, where he is expected to live for at least 90 days.
Mr Fisher, 39, will have to undergo twice-weekly urine tests as part of his treatment.
The two-time best and fairest player will not be allowed to leave the premises, with staff to notify police of any breaches.
He will also have to report to police with a phone call twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.
Magistrate Bernard FitzGerald told Mr Fisher “after some anxious consideration” he was “narrowly persuaded” to grant the former footballer bail at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
“In my view, the risk of further offending will be adequately mitigated by the adding of strict bail conditions, including residence at Arrow Health,” Mr FitzGerald said.
He warned Mr Fisher that any breaches of bail would land him “exactly back where you are at the moment”.
“There must be strict compliance,” Mr FitzGerald said.
Mr Fisher is charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, trafficking cocaine and possessing drugs of dependence.
He was charged following a tip-off from Western Australia Police, who had arrested and charged a Perth man, Julien Morvan, on drug trafficking offences.
The court heard messages were found from Mr Fisher inside Mr Morvan’s phone.
Police allege the pair was involved in a cross-border drug ring where drugs and cash were regularly being concealed in whitegoods and sent between Melbourne and Perth.
Barrister Dermott Dann, QC, had earlier told the court Mr Fisher planned to plead not guilty to the more serious charges of trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
But he conceded that Mr Fisher had admitted he had an “escalating” addiction, and was using 30ml of GHB daily before his arrest.
He was also a regular user of methylamphetamine, Mr Dann said.
When police raided his Bay St home in Sandringham, they allegedly found 7.19g of methyl amphetamine in his ensuite bathroom, syringes containing human growth hormones inside the fridge and ecstasy tablets and a box of diazepam in his bedroom.
Drugs were also found in his car and a storage facility attached to his apartment.
The court heard Mr Fisher turned to taking illicit substances as “a result of having had nothing else to do” and a “sense of dislocation”.
Mr Dann said Mr Fisher had suffered an adjustment disorder following hanging up his boots after playing 288 games for St Kilda from 2004 to 2016.
This became exacerbated with the coronavirus pandemic and Melbourne’s lockdowns, Mr Dann said.
The case will return to court after his 90-day treatment for Mr FitzGerald to determine if he should be allowed to be freed into the community.
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