Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill has been charged over his alleged involvement in a deal to supply large-scale quantities of cocaine.
The 52-year-old, who played 44 times for Australia in a decade-long Test career that ended in 2008, was arrested in his homeland earlier this week.
The arrest follows a police investigation into an incident in which MacGill was allegedly kidnapped back in April 2021.
MacGill told police at the time that he had been forced into a car in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne and driven to the city’s outskirts, where he was beaten and threatened at gunpoint before later being released.
Six people are due in court over that incident later this month but police have now also charged MacGill with taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. Reports in the Australian media claim the plot involved more than $300,000 worth of cocaine.
He has yet to enter a plea and has been released on bail ahead of a planned court hearing on October 26.
MacGill was a highly-rated leg-spinner throughout his career but suffered when it came to international selection for the presence of Shane Warne, struggling to nail down a regular place in the Australian side.
As a result, the majority of his caps came when Warne was either injured or banned, or else on the occasions when Australia fielded two spinners. Even so, MacGill finished his career with more than 200 Test wickets, including a series-leading 27 in the 1998/99 Ashes win.
