By Erin Pearson
A barrister and former public prosecutions solicitor will remain behind bars after a magistrate refused him bail over a swathe of drug charges, including trafficking five times the commercial quantity of 1,4 bute, more commonly known as recreational drug GHB.
Anthony Grant, 44, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday from the Melbourne Assessment Prison, where he has been on remand since his arrest at his bay-view apartment last month.
Police allege they found drugs and paraphernalia in barrister Anthony Grant’s apartment.Credit: Melbourne Magistrates’ Court
In refusing bail, magistrate Timothy Bourke noted Grant was also facing further charges that have not yet been served, including allegations Grant trafficked drugs at Crown Casino days before he was arrested at his home alongside his girlfriend, who is also in custody.
The court heard a report submitted to the court also showed Grant has lived with substance dependence issues for more than 20 years. When arrested, he reported using alcohol alongside a fluctuating mixture of methamphetamine, GHB, ecstasy and ketamine each week, the magistrate said.
Police allege among the substances found in Grant’s apartment were 12.05 litres of 1,4-Butanediol, or GHB, alongside suspected MDMA, ritalin, magic mushrooms, cocaine and ecstasy.
Police also told the court they seized dozens of packets of other prescription medication from inside the privately rented apartment on Queens Road, which overlooks Albert Park. They included 355 sildenafil tablets and 322 sildenafil jelly packets – a schedule 4 poison used to treat erectile dysfunction.
The drugs seized included 12.05 litres of 1,4-Butanediol, 11 grams of methamphetamine and five grams of MDMA, a court heard.Credit: Melbourne Magistrates’ Court
Crime scene photographs released by the court showed a prosthetic penis, designed to use another person’s urine to cheat drug screenings, in a kitchen cupboard next to a jar of peanut butter.
Police said that on the kitchen stove was a line of cocaine on a white plate next to Grant’s 2018 Melbourne Football Club membership card. In the loungeroom, police photographed a safe filled with boxes of prescription medication.
The maximum penalty for trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs is 25 years’ jail.
In opposing bail, police said they feared for the public’s safety if Grant was released because he was known to drive cars and electric scooters while unlicensed, as his driver’s licence was cancelled for drink and drug driving in 2023.
Police say this crime scene photo depicts a line of cocaine on a plate with an AFL football membership card in Grant’s name.
Court records show Grant, a former Office of Public Prosecutions lawyer who works as a criminal barrister out of Owen Dixon Chambers, is facing 13 charges, including trafficking a commercial quantity of 1,4-Butanediol and possessing other drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy.
In arguing for bail, his lawyer, Richard Jakobsen, said Grant had been using drugs at an increasing rate since a traumatic event and argued there was little evidence to support the allegation he had been trafficking any substances.
Jakobsen also said his client was willing to have fortnightly drug screenings. But police feared he would be a risk to the community if released.
In refusing bail, Bourke noted outstanding charges for Grant included allegedly trafficking a drug of dependence at Crown Casino on August 7 and 35 counts of dealing in property suspected to be the proceeds of crime and other drug possession at his previous home on Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
“I do not agree this is a weak case,” Bourke said.
“He is clearly under a cloud of drug addiction and in a world of drug activity and vulnerable to influence by others.
“The bail application must be refused.”
The matter is due to return to court later this year.