Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson found not guilty of drug trafficking, guilty of possession

Former AFL champion Mark “Bomber” Thompson has been convicted of drug possession.

Mark "Bomber" Thompson, right, has been found not guilty of drug trafficking. Picture: AAP

Former AFL champion Mark “Bomber” Thompson has been convicted of drug possession, following a police raid that netted hundreds of ecstasy pills and large quantities of ice at his home.

The former Essendon player and coach, who was caught up in the club’s infamous drugs scandal, escaped a potential jail sentence after multiple drug trafficking charges were dismissed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday.

Thompson, who was supported in the courtroom by several family members, including his son, shook his head and muttered under his breath at the news that he would have a conviction recorded against his name.

He was fined $3500 and must serve a 12-month community corrections order, which will force him to undergo drug rehabilitation.

In his judgment, magistrate Duncan Reynolds said the evidence had given rise to suspicion that Thompson, 55, was trafficking drugs but it was not proved ­beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Reynolds said he had taken into account Thompson’s lack of criminal history but the amount of drugs found elevated the seriousness of the case to warrant a ­conviction.

He noted Thompson had taken steps since the police raid to “change aspects of your life”.

The raid on his Port Melbourne home in January last year had uncovered hundreds of ecstasy pills in a bag kept in a locked room connected to Thompson’s bedroom.

Police also found a locked box containing ice, Xanax and an LSD tab, and equipment including scales.

Mark "Bomber" Thompson arrives at the Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning. Picture: AAP

Thompson admitted last month that he started smoking ice in 2017 to cope with the loss of his career following the scandal at ­Essendon, where he worked as an assistant and fill-in coach. He said everything he believed about the AFL was ruined when he was charged in 2013 by the league for bringing the game into disrepute.  “It was a difficult time,” he said. “Everything I believed about this industry I worked in all my life was in ruins … I couldn’t believe we could do that to a group of young men.”

Although Thompson admitted using drugs, his lawyers denied he trafficked them, instead blaming his former housemate Thomas Windsor, who was convicted of drug trafficking last September, placed on a community corrections order, jailed for 169 days but released with time already served.

Thompson had told the court he had been smoking about one gram of ice a week when he met Windsor in late 2017. “I was happy to talk to someone and (Windsor) was quite charming and engaging,’’ he said.

“To be honest, I think he really saw an ­opportunity in me and I was a little­ bit gullible.’’

Thompson’s lawyer, Micky Milardovic, yesterday told the court the Essendon scandal had a significant impact on his client and the offending happened at a low point of his life.

He said Thompson’s “poig­nant” evidence of his drug use was damaging to himself, his career and his public profile.

“In my submission that goes a long way to demonstrate remorse but also rehabilitation,” Mr Milardovic said.

The court had previously heard evidence of Thompson’s success in cryptocurrency, with his lawyers arguing that it didn’t make sense for a man of his financial standing to traffic drugs, adding he had $3 million in the bank at the time of the allegations.

Mr Milardovic said Thompson was now involved in other business ventures including making furniture with reclaimed or recycled materials, motorised e-cycles and the burgeoning medical ­industry of hydrogen inhalers as a way to reduce radiation.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AAP