NRL star Wicks faces drug supply charges
December 16, 2009 - 12:49PM
Newcastle NRL rugby league player Danny Wicks has been charged with supplying and possessing illegal drugs.
Wicks was arrested on Wednesday morning and taken to Belmont police station, south of Newcastle, where he was charged with six counts of supplying prohibited drugs and two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.
He was one of four people arrested on Wednesday in a joint operation which police said was targeting supply of amphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy in the Clarence Valley on the NSW north coast.
Seven enforces new anti-drug policy after Home and Away's Todd Lasance, Jodi Gordon's reckless behaviour
# Erin McWhirter and Annette Sharpe
# From: The Daily Telegraph
# December 16, 2009 10:25AM
CHANNEL 7 will enforce a "two strikes and you're out" policy on staff involved in drugs-related behaviour as more details about one of its stars being charged with cocaine possession emerge.
Seven's new rule follows Logie Award-winning actor Todd Lasance's fall from grace at the weekend and fellow former Home and Away actor Jodi Gordon's checking into rehab for alcohol-related issues after a bender in June.
Is this the correct approach, or should it be zero tolerance? Your thoughts on the matter, please.
While not commenting on the current allegations, a Seven network spokesman said yesterday: "We have access to the best advice and systems in order to manage crises or events such as this but, fundamentally, responsibility and discipline must be followed through. There are no second chances."
Lasance, 24, did not attend a mentor speech at an acting workshop yesterday after police allegedly found him in possession of cocaine at popular Kings Cross nightclub Kit and Kaboodle.
A source who was with the actor on Saturday night said he was celebrating his final day on the set before a bid to try acting in Hollywood next month.
"Everyone was in high spirits as it was Todd's farewell," the source said. "He is held in high regard by the people who work with him and they wanted to give him a big send-off."
But, the party fizzled when Lasance was walked out of the nightclub accompanied by police.
Knights in spin with several players implicated in Wicks drug scandal
LES KENNEDY AND ADRIAN PROSZENKO
December 20, 2009
EXCLUSIVE
A NUMBER of Newcastle Knights first-graders have allegedly been caught on police phone taps or surveillance seeking to purchase or buying drugs from teammate Danny Wicks.
The players are expected to be identified when police unveil in court the extent of evidence gathered in an eight-month covert operation into a northern-NSW-based drug trafficking ring – with links to the Gladiators motorcycle gang – which culminated in Wicks’s arrest on Wednesday.
When 24-year-old Wicks faced Newcastle Local Court that day, police alleged other players were implicated but did not reveal how many or identify them.
However, The Sun-Herald has learned that detectives plan to interview a number of players and are considering laying charges.
‘‘These are extremely serious allegations,’’ Knights chief executive Steve Burraston said last night. ‘‘There is a police investigation under way and in no way would we intend to hinder that investigation with speculation. ‘‘We are unaware of these new allegations. However, if police come to us with the evidence you’re suggesting, it will be dealt with in the appropriate manner.’’
Wicks’s former housemate, Knights forward Chris Houston, was named as a potential witness in the case, but is not suspected of any wrongdoing. He and all other Knights players have been ordered by the club not to have any contact with Wicks until his case is resolved.
Even if charges are not laid, the airing of phone intercept recordings which will identify players will be potentially damaging enough to force the Knights to cancel their contracts for contravening anti-drug guidelines, a senior police source told The Sun-Herald.
Another officer said the drug allegations that will be aired in the Wicks case could cost the Knights any success in the 2010 season.
‘‘The joke is – and it is a true joke – they are odds on to get the wooden spoon, but you can’t lay bets on which team will finish last,’’ the officer said.
Betting agency TAB Sportsbet was preparing to unveil its wooden spoon and premiership markets for the 2010 NRL season this morning. The Knights, who made the finals this year for the first time since 2006, were going to be posted at $26 to win the title. They were set to be installed as a $15 chance to win the wooden spoon.
It’s believed the agency will suspend betting following the latest revelations. The NRL has the power to dock competition points should a club bring the game into disrepute.
‘‘With the testing we’ve done and the way we do it – in recovery sessions, in rehabilitation sessions, in training sessions and game day, over and above what’s required in the NRL – I’d be very surprised if these allegations are true,’’ Burraston said.
Wicks’s arrest followed an incident in the Newcastle suburb of Merewether last month, in which a woman in Wicks’s company was charged with possession of a small quantity of amphetamine and cocaine.
The Wicks drama comes just two years after legendary Newcastle halfback Andrew Johns revealed that he had taken drugs during his playing career.The potential loss of players or competition points would have a catastrophic effect on the club.
However, Burraston was confident the Knights could survive the ordeal.
''We don't fear this at all,'' Burraston said.
''We believe we have the policies and procedures in place to handle anything that may come out of this situation.
''If this does turn out to be correct, we have the will to take the correct and appropriate action.
''At this stage we're not aware of any of this and I wouldn't like to speculate or interfere with the ongoing police investigation.''
Wicks, who has yet to enter a plea, and was released on $30,000 bail on Friday, was one of five people arrested in raids in Newcastle and Grafton on Wednesday, including his 22-year-old brother Brett and Brett's defacto wife Tristen Davenport, 25.
The couple, who did not enter any pleas when they faced Grafton Local Court that day, have been charged with 10 drug-related offences, while Wicks faces four charges of supplying amphetamines, two charges of supplying ecstasy, one charge of possessing cocaine and one of possessing amphetamines.
NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was unaware of the latest developments in the Wicks saga.
''Neither the police nor the club have suggested that to us,'' Gallop said last night.
''It is a serious allegation and we must leave it in the hands of the police at this stage.''
Wicks, who has been stood down indefinitely by the club and must report daily to his local police station, will face court again on February 3.
Also arrested in Newcastle with Wicks was Steven Stefanovski, 29, who police alleged in court supplied 28 grams of amphetamines to Wicks last month as undercover police looked on. When released on bail on Friday he was ordered by the court not to associate with Wicks or any other co-accused.
Soap star's cocaine case adjourned
The hearing for a former Home and Away star who was charged with cocaine possession in Sydney last month, has been adjourned.
24-year-old Todd Lasance was allegedly caught with cocaine in Kings Cross during the police operation targeting drugs.
He did not appear at the Downing Centre Local Court today, where his lawyer asked for the case to be adjourned until February.
Lasance recently quit the long-running Channel 7 soap, in which he played the character Aden Jefferies.
The Silver Logie winner will appear at his next court hearing.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
I'am surprised of the actually purity of the good shit! also it is very good to hear that the shit has not tested for any Levamisole.
I think his mates in Darwin will be pissed...
Scandal precedes NRL season as another Knights' player faces drug charges
* Jodie Minus and Brent Read
* From: The Australian
* March 02, 2010 12:00AM
JUST 10 days before the National Rugby League season begins, the code is facing a fresh scandal after a second Newcastle Knights player was yesterday charged with drug supply.
Second-rower Chris Houston, 25, has been stood down indefinitely from the club, as he faces three charges of supplying ecstasy and cocaine on the state's central coast.
Strike Force Welham officers yesterday served Houston's lawyer with a notice, ordering his client to appear at Newcastle Local Court on April 13. The allegations against Houston -- considered by many as a rising star -- could not have come at a worse time for the code.
The NRL was hoping for a scandal-free start to the season on March 12, after a spate of unsavoury off-field incidents last year. Newcastle yesterday called in all players for an emergency meeting and hastily removed all images of Houston, and his profile, from the club's website.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
A brief statement said Houston chose to stand down while the matter was before the courts.
"In order that the team can remain focused on the competition ahead of them, Chris has indicated a willingness to stand down from the Knights while the charges are before the court," a Knights statement said. "In accordance with Knights' policy, Chris has been stood down pending the hearing of these charges."
Just months earlier, his team-mate and former house-mate Danny Wicks was charged with similar offences after an investigation by the same strike-force. Front-rower Wicks was arrested on December 16 and charged with six counts of supplying prohibited drugs and two counts of drug possession. He will vigorously fight the charges.
The strike force was set up to investigate the supply of cocaine, speed and ecstasy in the Clarence Valley region, where Wicks was raised.
Wicks's younger brother Brett, 22, sister-in-law Tristen Davenport, 25, both of Grafton, and former Newcastle Suns soccer player Steven Stefanovski, 29, of Newcastle, were also charged with drug supply offences.
Wicks and Houston previously played together for the St George Illawarra Dragons.
