Former Geelong Cats coach Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson was cleared of drug trafficking in Melbourne Magistrates Court today.
Magistrate Duncan Reynolds dismissed the trafficking charges but found the possession charges “proven”.
The troubled football legend faced multiple drug possession and trafficking charges after police found methamphetamine and MDA in his Port Melbourne home during a 2018 raid.
Police found 33 grams of methamphetamine, 481 MDA pills, an LSD tab, four smoking pipes and scales in his home.
The quantities of the drugs were multiple times the minimum amount required to be charged with trafficking, ABC reported.
But Thompson’s defence team had argued it made no sense for the former footballer to traffic drugs given his public profile and wealth.
Magistrate Reynolds today ruled Thompson had not intended to sell the drugs.
Thompson, 53, last month admitted to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court he was a “drug-taker” but denied being a dealer.
His legal team argued drugs found in a police raid on his home belonged to a convicted drug trafficker who had moved in with him
“I’m a drug taker,” Thompson told the court.
“But I never had any intention of selling drugs.”
Thompson coached Geelong Cats to two premierships during his 2000-2010 reign at the club before leaving for Essendon Football Club.
He stepped in as senior coach of Essendon in 2014 after James Hird was suspended for 12 months over the drug supplements saga.
He told court last month he was in a “bad way” when the club dropped him to make way for Hird’s return in 2015.
Thompson invited convicted drug trafficker Thomas Windsor to move into his home in December 2017.
“It was a difficult time,” Thompson told the court last month.
“I took drugs to mask the pain.”
Magistrate Reynolds had yet to sentence Thompson but a plea hearing is likely to take place next week, according to Fairfax reports.
