Stuart MacGill: Details of cricket legend’s alleged coke deal gone wrong are revealed as he fronts court after being ‘kidnapped and threatened with a gun’
- Ex-spin bowler will face trial for alleged role in the deal
- Has been released on bail since his arrest in September 2023
- The 53-year-old will return to court on April 12
Cricketer Stuart MacGill claims he is ‘absolutely’ the victim of a kidnapping and has suffered immensely as he faces trial for his alleged role in a large-scale cocaine deal.
Mr MacGill pleaded not guilty in Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Thursday and agreed to stand trial for his alleged role in a $330,000 drug deal.
The cult leg spinner has been on bail since his arrest in September last year when he was charged with one count of knowingly participating in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a banned drug.
According to court documents, Mr MacGill is alleged to have taken part in the supply of a kilogram of cocaine in Neutral Bay, on Sydney’s lower north shore, between April 1 and 14, 2021.
Police allege the 53-year-old was involved in the cocaine deal worth more than $330,000.
MacGill is pictured outside Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Thursday where he entered a plea of not guilty
On Thursday, Mr MacGill’s lawyer, Thos Hodgson, entered a not guilty plea in court.
Mr MacGill remained standing because he had promised to stand trial in the District Court, where he will be formally charged later this year.
Magistrate Susan Horan agreed to expedite his arraignment, with the court hearing the Crown prosecutor asked for the case to be heard as quickly as possible as the men accused of his alleged kidnapping were also awaiting trial.
The investigation into Mr MacGill began in 2021 after he was allegedly abducted from outside his Cremorne apartment in April 2021.
The former spin bowler (pictured center with cricket star Steve Smith, right, during a Big Bash League match in 2012) is accused of being involved in a large-scale cocaine deal
He was allegedly taken to a property in Bringelly in Sydney’s south-west where he was assaulted, threatened with a gun and demanded for money.
Six men have been charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping, have pleaded not guilty and are still in court.
“It will be defended very vigorously,” Hodgson said outside court.
‘He certainly does (maintain his innocence). He is really the person who suffered greatly from this. He underwent a terrible ordeal.
“It’s taken a huge toll on him emotionally.”
The 53-year-old former Test cricketer (pictured leaving court on Thursday) has ‘suffered greatly’ after allegedly being kidnapped in April 2021, his lawyer told the court
Mr MacGill has repeatedly stated that he was not involved in any wrongdoing.
“I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told A Current Affair in 2021.
He added that he was an “innocent” party in the case.
Mr MacGill took 208 wickets in his 44 Test appearances for Australia during a stellar career spent largely in the shadow of Shane Warne.
Mr MacGill will next appear in court on April 12.