A former AFL star has admitted he became involved in a cross-country drug smuggling operation after his life “spiralled out of control”.
Ex-St Kilda player Sam Fisher, 41, returned before the County Court of Victoria via video link on Thursday to say he would accept a sentence indication handed down last week.
As six charges were read out to him one by one, Fisher replied “guilty” in subdued tones to each one.
He admitted to trafficking charges for drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine and 1,4-Butanediol, and admitted to possession of drugs including ketamine, LSD, testosterone and diazepam.
Fisher had been scheduled to face an estimated 10-day trial next week, but instead pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and possession charges after Judge Gerard Mullaly said he would impose a maximum penalty of five years and four months jail.
Last week, Judge Mullaly was told Fisher first came to the attention of police in April 2022 after a “suspicious parcel” in Western Australia was found to contain $129,000 in cash.
The consignment was sent by Perth man Julien Morvan, 35, with police then identifying and intercepting a second large parcel addressed to Morvan.
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The box contained a oven rangehood purchased from a Harvey Norman store in Melbourne, with 996g of methamphetamine and 82g of cocaine stashed inside.
On Morvan’s phone, police found text messages with a contact named “Fish” – Sam Fisher – who picked up the rangehood and delivered it to Morvan’s father’s Melbourne shop.
Crown prosecutor Melissa Mahady told the court the messages reveal Fisher at the least knew what was inside the rangehood and likely packed the drugs himself.
A raid on Fisher’s home on May 18 the same year uncovered quantities of 1.4 butanediol, or GHB, methamphetamine, LSD and ketamine.
Representing Fisher, prominent Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann KC told the court this was his client’s first brush with the law and the offending occurred in a context where his life “spiralled out of control”.
He said the South Australian-born football player had retired due to injury in 2016 after playing 228 games with the Saints since 2003.
Mr Dann said Fisher, who had dabbled with drugs recreationally in the past, saw his use “intensify” after a property development stalled due to Covid-19 lockdowns and he began using amphetamines and GHB almost daily.
“Unfortunately he was in a very, very bad way in terms of his drug usage… so much so that when he was first arrested he was unfit to be brought before the court,” he said.
“Such was his drug usage and drug addiction at that particular time. To his credit, and what makes this situation even more tragic, is he has devoted himself to his rehabilitation ever since.”
Mr Dann told the court that Morvan had been jailed for six years in March 2023 after pleading guilty to similar charges in Western Australia.
He argued parity – a legal principle that requires similar cases be treated alike – was a “fundamental” sentencing factor in Fisher’s case.
Morvan, the court was told, had played a more significant role in the plot, organising the shipment while Fisher had just transported the cargo, with Mr Dann arguing he should receive a lesser sentence.
Under Victoria’s standard sentencing regime, which imposes a guidepost of 16 years’ imprisonment for trafficking in a large commercial quantity, Morvan’s sentence would be “manifestly inadequate” in Victoria, the court was told.
Ms Mahady argued a sentence “at the bottom-end of the appropriate range” should be imposed given the parity principle.
Handing down his indication that Fisher would receive a maximum penalty of five years and four months for a guilty plea, Judge Mullaly said it was “lower than many” imposed for this crime.
“The sentence I’ve come to is probably an outlier, but that is because of the unique circumstances of this case,” he said.
He found Fisher’s role was “important, but less culpable” than Morvan’s, noting he was in command of the transaction and distribution network.
“A more severe sentence would be, in simple terms, unequal justice and I ought avoid that outcome,” he said.
Judge Mullaly noted the significant steps Fisher has taken to rehabilitate himself, including spending months in an inpatient program and speaking publicly about his battles as part of a men’s mental health program.
He said the two-time best and fairest winner and All-Australian should be recognised for the effort he’d undertaken to turn around his life.
“No matter how talented you are, drugs can take a hold of you and ruin your life; that’s the message he’s been imparting so others can avoid his path,” Judge Mullaly said.
Fisher will return to court on April 29 for a plea hearing.
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