Former St Kilda star Sam Fisher jailed for three years for drug trafficking
Former St Kilda star Sam Fisher will spend the next three years in prison for his role in a cross-country drug trafficking operation.
Police & Courts
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Former St Kilda star Sam Fisher will spend the next three years behind bars for his role in a cross country drug trafficking saga that saw him ship more than 1kg of drugs interstate.
Dressed in a grey suit, an emotional Fisher, 41, learned his fate at the County Court on Thursday, waving goodbye to his parents and giving barrister Dermot Dann KC a departing hug before he was taken away by prison authorities.
The ex-St Kilda defender previously pleaded guilty to six drug related charges including trafficking 996g meth, 82g cocaine and GHB as well as possessing drugs.
In May 2022 police seized 1kg of drugs he shipped to WA in an oven rangehood, before finding more than 1800g of 1,4-Butanediol, 9g of meth and LSD during a raid at his Sandringham home.
Fisher’s co-accused Julien Morvan – who organised the shipment of the drugs – was jailed for six years in Western Australia after pleading guilty to similar charges in 2023.
Judge Gerard Mullaly said a “more severe sentence” for Fisher who played a “lesser role” in the plot would be “of unequal justice”.
“A sentence longer than that of Morvan would give a serious sense of grievance and undermine the quality of justice,” he said.
Fisher had previously blamed a daily meth and GHB addiction combined with debilitating injuries and the loss of his job, for causing his life to spiral out of control.
Two weeks ago His Honour granted him bail so that he could “do what (he) needed to do” mental health wise before being sentenced.
Judge Mullaly said Fisher had taken “enormous steps towards rehabilitation”.
“You are a long way from the daily drug taker of 2022,” he said.
“You have well and truly moved to reversing what was an out of character episode in your life.”
The court received many positive character references for Fisher, including one from the founders of event platform “Good Blokes Society” who described him as “demonstrating remarkable courage and honesty … his willingness to speak candidly about his experiences has served as a valuable lesson to those facing similar struggles.”
Fisher was sentenced to five years and four months jail and will be eligible for parole after three years.
He has previously served 48 days in custody.
Judge Mullaly said he hoped Fisher would be “released on parole” to allow him to return to care for his family.
“Your pending incarceration would cause difficulties for (your family). This concern will make jail harder,” he said.
The former Saint played 228 games for the club between 2004 and 2016 where he won two best-and-fairest awards and earned all-Australian selection in 2008.
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