Police swoop ahead of training at Sea Eagle’s home, player charged with drug supply

Former Canterbury and Wests Tigers playmaker Brandon Wakeham has been charged with drug supply offences as part of a wider sting in which police say they seized one kilogram of MDMA.

Wakeham, 25, who now plays for Manly’s feeder club Blacktown, was arrested in the Brookvale Oval car park about 1.20pm on Wednesday after an eight-month investigation into the supply of illicit drugs.

The Fijian international’s Bexley apartment was also raided and he was taken to Manly police station, where he was charged with taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug, greater than a large commercial quantity; taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug, greater than an indictable and less than a commercial quantity; and participating in a criminal group.

On Thursday, he was granted bail in Manly Local Court. Magistrate Robyn Denes said his role was that of a mid- or lower-tier member of the alleged syndicate.

Wakeham, who has played 40 NRL games, was allegedly in the passenger’s seat of a car during two instances of alleged drug supply, the court heard. On neither occasion did he “have any knowledge” of what was going on, his high-profile lawyer Elias Tabchouri said.

“He’s not organising any of this, he’s not said to be the genesis. He’s said to be a passenger in the car of the people who have done it,” Tabchouri said.

Brandon Wakeham playing for Blacktown in 2024.Credit: NRL Photos

A police raid on the Bexley home Wakeham shares with his fiancee turned up nothing, Elias said.

Outside court, he told reporters the footballer was pleased to be granted bail but struggling with the impact the charges would most likely have on his NRL prospects.

“It’s a difficult time for him,” he said, adding that Wakeham would be defending the charges.

Alleged kingpin, San Souci businessman Sam Amine, 47, and his nephew Nabil Allouche, 24, were also picked up in raids on Wednesday.

Amine was charged with 10 offences, including directing the activities of a criminal group, dealing with the proceeds of crime, supplying an unregistered pistol, and seven offences relating to commercial drug supply.

The NSW Crime Commission has frozen $10 million of Amine’s assets as part of the operation. Police also say they seized cash, phones and drugs from his home.

This is not the first time that Amine has made headlines – he was allegedly kidnapped and beaten in Sydney in 2021 as part of a reported $3 million extortion attempt.

He was at home with his wife in Sans Souci on June 9, 2021, when it’s alleged four armed men broke into the house, pulled him into a stolen BMW and took him to a premises in Padstow where he was assaulted. Police say he escaped just before midnight by climbing out of a window. Three men were charged over the incident.

Charges levelled against Amine in 2019 for steroid possession in Fiji, where he owns several gyms, were subsequently dropped.

Brandon Wakeham has made 40 appearances in the NRL.Credit: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

Allouche was picked up in Chester Hill on Wednesday; investigators searching his car allegedly seized one kilogram of MDMA, 56 grams of cocaine and approximately $50,000 in cash.

Both men were refused bail and are due to appear in court on Thursday.

“We believe this is causing a major disruption in this area of [alleged] illicit drug supply and criminal group networks,” Drug & Firearms Squad Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Richard Puffett said on Thursday.

After a 15-game NRL stint with the Tigers last year, Wakeham switched to the Sea Eagles in the hope of becoming a back-up for established halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Brooks.

He has made 10 appearances for Blacktown, where he was named to play alongside fellow half Jake Arthur for Sunday’s NSW Cup clash against Canterbury at North Sydney Oval. Wakeham is now expected to be stood down for the game.

“The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have been made aware of an incident involving Brandon Wakeham, a Blacktown Workers contracted player, who has been arrested and charged on drug-related matters,” the NRL club said in a statement on Thursday, adding it planned to co-operate with the league’s Integrity Unit.

The drama has come at an inopportune time for rugby league officials, who are spruiking the opening women’s State of Origin match on Thursday night and the commencement of the NRL’s Magic Round in Brisbane on Friday night.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said: “He is registered with an NRL club, he has a contract that is registered with us, so it would be under our jurisdiction.”

“Once we know a little bit more around the facts, we will be able to make a determination about what the action will be,” he said at a press conference on Thursday morning.

“At this stage though, we will respect and acknowledge what happens from a legal perspective first and foremost and then we will have a look and see how our policies can be applied.”

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