In February of this year, Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt was arrested on charges relating to possession of cocaine, and supply of the drug to friends and colleagues.
After pleading guilty, he was ultimately fined $2500, and let go without a conviction recorded. This weekend, per reports in the Sunday Telegraph, details have emerged of interviews Hunt gave with law enforcement following his arrest.
He told police about days-long drug and alcohol binges, attending various official team functions while high, meeting a dealer outside a Gold Coast Domino’s, and supplying cocaine to other players.
More significantly, however, it has been reported that Hunt provided police with the names of other high-profile players involved in drug supply in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Reportedly, Hunt named an NRL star, who has previously not been connected with any drug allegations, as the person who gave him the name of a supplier.
“I believe that I would have got [the dealer]’s number from [the player],” he said. “While I have never partied with [the player] or seen him using drugs, I was aware that he partied every so often and dabbled with cocaine.”
“It would have been for this reason that I contacted [the player] for a phone number to source cocaine for myself.” It is understood that, in a two-month period in 2014, he would go on to purchase 12.5kg of cocaine from a Gold Coast-based cartel.
Hunt also told police that he had dealings with another unnamed NRL player, and that in the lead-up to a Gold Coast Suns end-of-season party, he gave the player “a couple of grand” to buy cocaine, which was then consumed at a Burleigh apartment.
“The cocaine was purchased for our personal use during the end-of-season celebrations,” Hunt told law enforcement, claiming that the stress of switching codes led to his months of binging. “There was no financial gain for me at all.”
“I accept that my cocaine use during this time was the worst that it had ever been by far and I regret it.”
If the names of the above players are released, the NRL will likely face significantly more headaches in the weeks to come.
via Courier Mail
Photo: Scott Barbour via Getty Images
Photo: Scott Barbour via Getty Images
