NSW-based ‘semi-professional rugby’ star Tiueti Asi jailed for trafficking meth across SA border

He was once considered an international sport star and a ‘leader on and off the field’. Now, this father will spend years behind bars thanks to a cocaine addiction.

A former international rugby star once labelled a “leader on and off the field” will spend at least two years behind bars in South Australia after his cocaine addiction led him down the path of methamphetamine trafficking.

In the South Australian District Court earlier this month, New Zealand born “semi-professional rugby” star Tiueti Asi, 33, learned he’d remain in a South Australian prison until at least 2026 for trying to move nearly $1m worth of methamphetamine across the border from NSW.

Asi, 33 from Carlingford in New South Wales, was arrested on September 17, 2024 after his Suzuki Swift was searched on the Princes Hwy in Tailem Bend.

The joint operation, which included officers from SA Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Australian Federal Police and NSW Police together with Murray Mallee patrols, uncovered nearly 8kg of methamphetamine and over $3000 in cash in his vehicle.

Asi was charged and later pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug – a crime which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or a fine $1m or both.

Asi, a father of two, most recently played for the Hunter Wildfires in NSW, with the club labelling him “Wildfire of the Year” in 2023.

In a post to social media, the club said he had returned to Newcastle after “stints in Spain and New Zealand”.

Tiueti Asi, former Hunter Wildfires player, has been jailed for trafficking meth. Picture: Instagram

Tiueti Asi. Picture: Facebook

The Advertiser understands Asi was arrested as part of a nationwide investigation – known as Operation Kraken – into a criminal communications app.

In sentencing on April 17, Judge Jane Schammer said Asi had developed an addiction to cocaine, but went cold turkey when he met his girlfriend in 2023.

“You had incurred a substantial debt to drug dealers arising from your previous addiction to cocaine. You agreed to transport the drugs to South Australia, driving from your home in New South Wales via Victoria, in order to wipe that debt,” Judge Schammer said.

“You feared you would be caught but took the risk to participate. Your fears were ultimately realised.”

She said that his black Suzuki Swift was stopped and searched, with a black backpack in his back seat found containing eight individually packaged items.

“Each package contained mixed methamphetamine, with the respective weights of those substances ranging between 991 and 995g. In a bum bag in the front passenger footwell were personal items belonging to you, together with $3,720 in cash. You were found to be carrying three mobile phones, which were all seized.

“At that time, if sold in similarly packaged quantities, those drugs had a market value of between $720,000 and $840,000. If sold in smaller quantities, the drugs had a considerably higher market value.”

She said Asi had “always been a talented rugby player” after moving from New Zealand to play in Australia on a “semi-professional basis, including playing overseas in Europe”.

“I accept that you are extremely ashamed and remorseful for what you have done and you feel as if you have let everyone close to you down,” she said.

Taking into account a discount for his early guilty plea, she sentenced him to four years, two months and 22 days imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years.

That sentence was backdated to his arrest in September, meaning Asi will be eligible for parole in September 2026.

The Hunter Wildfires have been contacted for comment.

Originally published as NSW-based ‘semi-professional rugby’ star Tiueti Asi jailed for trafficking meth across SA border