Code-hopping former AFL player Karmichael Hunt has been arrested on charges of supplying cocaine.
The charges against the Queensland Reds rugby union vice-captain follow an operation by Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) and he was arrested on Thursday night.
The CCC released a statement on Friday morning which said they had charged four people as part of an investigation into a cocaine trafficking syndicate in southeast Queensland.
Among them was a 28-year-old man from Hendra who was facing four counts of drug supply and is due to appear at the Southport Magistrates Court on March 5.
The CCC will allege the three men and one woman arranged for the supply of cocaine for personal use or to on-supply cocaine to friends and colleagues between June and December 2014.
“During an investigation focused on a cocaine trafficking syndicate operating in South East Queensland, these four individuals were identified contacting the syndicate and arranging for the supply of cocaine,” the CCC said.
The trio accused with Hunt – a Burleigh Waters man, 24, a Mermaid Waters man, 27, and a Mermaid Waters woman, 22 – will also appear in court on drug supply charges on March 5.
Hunt was on Thursday named at fullback for the Reds in their match against the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
The Reds postponed their pre-match captain’s press conference on Friday morning as reports of Hunt’s arrest spread.
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Hunt’s manager David Riolo could not be contacted immediately for comment.
If proven, the charges threaten to end a glittering sporting career just when Hunt appeared in the mix to cap it by playing for the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup later this year.
A former rugby league international and Brisbane Broncos NRL star, Hunt joined the Reds this season following a stint in AFL with the Gold Coast Suns.
The timeframe of the alleged offences between June and December covers the period when Hunt was at the Suns and then joined the Reds.
