Anthony Grant facing 74 new charges including trafficking methamphetamine

A barrister and former state prosecutor has been hit with fresh charges after allegedly dealing drugs at Crown casino.

Anthony Grant was formerly employed as a barrister at Owen Dixon Chambers. Picture: Josie Hayden

A barrister and former state prosecutor has been hit with dozens of fresh criminal charges linked to allegations of drug dealing at Crown casino and retaining stolen luxury goods.

Anthony Grant, formerly employed as a barrister at Owen Dixon Chambers, faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday on 74 new charges including trafficking methamphetamine and possessing various other prescription and illicit drugs including cocaine.

Mr Grant, 44, is already facing more than a dozen existing drug-related charges following a raid at his and his girlfriend Atousa Haghighi’s CBD apartment last August where a treasure trove of drugs and a prosthetic penis were allegedly uncovered.

Charge sheets released to the Herald Sun reveal Mr Grant is accused of dealing methamphetamine and possessing Xanax and Viagra at Crown casino on August 7, 2022.

Mr Grant and his girlfriend Atousa Haghighi’s CBD apartment was raided.

Mr Grant is accused of dealing methamphetamine and possessing Xanax and Viagra at Crown casino. Picture: Josie Hayden

Cash and drugs allegedly found in Mr Grant and Ms Haghighi’s apartment. Supplied: Court VIctoria

Mr Grant had been under investigation over the Crown casino allegations for some time.

He is also accused of illegally retaining a huge number of luxury and identification items including Prada sunglasses, a Louis Vuitton hat, YSL handbag, women’s jewellery, electric scooters, an electric bike, Medicare cards, bank cards, driver’s licenses and a passport in November 2023.

Mr Grant’s lawyer Richard Jakobson said his client would contest two sets of charges and was awaiting a brief on a third set.

The matter will return to court on March 4.

Mr Grant and Ms Haghighi, 34, are expected back before the court on February 19 over existing commercial drug trafficking charges.

It’s alleged about 11L of 1.4 butanediol – used as a source for GHB – methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and hundreds of doses of Sildenafil, sold as Viagra, was found inside their Queens Rd apartment during a police raid on August 8, 2024.

A prosthetic penis, often used to falsify urine drug tests, was also allegedly uncovered during the search.

Both Mr Grant and Ms Haghighi are on bail, with Mr Grant released from prison on his third bail attempt after spending two months in solitary confinement in an experienced he described as “hell on earth”.

In October, he was freed after convincing a Supreme Court judge his safety was at risk in prison given his history as a prosecutor.

Mr Haghighi, a trained hairdresser, was bailed weeks earlier to a private $350-a-night drug rehabilitation centre.

The pair formed a romantic connection only months before being charged.

The court heard Mr Grant had legally represented Ms Haghighi on prior drug matters and had informally attempted to do so again in relation to the August drug raid before she sought independent legal counsel.

A court previously heard Mr Grant had been living “somewhat of a double life” prior to his arrest, where he functioned as a high-powered barrister while abusing illicit drugs including methamphetamine, GHB, ecstasy and ketamine on a routine basis.

Originally published as Anthony Grant facing 74 new charges including trafficking methamphetamine