Stuart MacGill’s appearance in a Sydney court on Wednesday to face drug trafficking charges showed the former star bowler has made a big change in his life in the last year as he showed off his incredible weight loss.
The 53-year-old entered Downing Center District Court smartly dressed in a suit and tie, and a quick comparison of those photos with images of him at a Legends cricket match last year demonstrates the big change in his appearance.
MacGill cut a very cut figure when he went to trial after pleading not guilty to a charge of involvement in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a banned drug.
MacGill is alleged to have facilitated a meeting and drug deal between a street dealer and his brother-in-law during which $330,000 was exchanged for a 1kg block of cocaine.
MacGill is accused of introducing a street drug dealer, who for legal reasons can only be known as “Person A”, and his partner’s brother, Marino Sotiropoulos, and was present when the pair negotiated a deal in the parking lot of his Neutral house. Bay Restaurant in April 2021.
On Tuesday, the first day of his trial, the court was told MacGill told police he had no knowledge of any drug deal.
Stuart Macgill arrives at a Sydney court on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to a charge of being involved in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.
The 53-year-old was kidnapped, stripped and assaulted after allegedly being involved in a drug deal in the car park of the restaurant he ran in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay.
MacGill’s court appearance showed he has lost a lot of weight since he was photographed at a Legends cricket game in Lismore last year (pictured).
His lawyer Thos Hodgson told the court that MacGill received “no benefit” from any exchange.
At the time, MacGill was running Aristotle’s in Neutral Bay with his girlfriend Maria O’Meagher.
Crown prosecutor Gabrielle Steedman told jurors during her opening address that MacGill used cocaine, which he bought from Person A.
Ms Steedman told the court it will be alleged that in April 2021 she complained to Person A about the quality of the cocaine being sold to her.
According to the Crown’s case, MacGill is alleged to have told Person A that his partner’s brother, Mr Sotiropoulos, could supply him with “good quality cocaine” and that he could “get good equipment”.
MacGill later told Person A that Sotiropoulos could supply him with 1kg of cocaine for $330,000.
The court was told that Mr MacGill, Mr Sotiropoulos and Person A were alleged to have met at Mr MacGill’s restaurant in Neutral Bay.
In the underground car park, MacGill introduced Sotiropoulos and Person A, who had $330,000 in cash, the court was told.
There they discussed how the exchange of money for drugs would take place.
The court was told Mr MacGill was not involved in the conversation but it was alleged he was a meter away.
MacGill’s notable weight loss came as he recovered from the trauma of his kidnapping and faced the looming legal battle over his alleged $330,000 cocaine deal.
The former bowler is shown taking a wicket in the Ashes series against England in 2002.
Ms Steedman told the court that Mr MacGill was alleged to have “facilitated” the meeting between Person A and Mr Sotiropoulos.
After the meeting, Person A went to Ashfield, where the drug exchange with another man occurred, Steedman said.
She told the jury that Mr. MacGill remained at the restaurant and had no further involvement in the deal that occurred in a parking lot.
The Crown alleges that Person A was involved in another drug deal, again involving 1kg of cocaine for $330,000, but MacGill is not alleged to have played any role in that deal.
On another occasion, Person A made a deal to pay $660,000 for 2kg of cocaine, but this time he “decided not to pay” and gave the suppliers a block of vacuum-sealed pieces of paper with $50 bills on them. the outside, Steedman said. .
“After realizing that Person A had defrauded them, it was demanded that Person A be found and compensated,” Ms Steedman said.
The court was told there was no dispute between the prosecution and the Crown defense that on April 14, MacGill was kidnapped by several men and taken to an abandoned shed in Bringelly, where he was stripped and assaulted.
The group demanded to know where Person A was, but MacGill told them he could not contact him, the court was told.
He was released a few hours later and six days later he went to the Chatswood police station where he gave a statement about his kidnapping.
Hodgson argued that MacGill had no knowledge of any drug deal involving Person A.
“My client will say that all he did was introduce these people, Marino and Person A, and that he had no knowledge whatsoever of what the agreement was going to be and that he was not involved in any way,” Hodgson said.
MacGill’s phone was recovered after it was thrown into News Corp’s Sydney office, the court was told.
The court was told that during their investigation, police downloaded all the information onto Mr MacGill’s phone, however they then lost the USB containing the data.
The court was told Person A was arrested in December 2021 before police raided his grandmother’s apartment.
Inside his home, detectives found 856 grams of cocaine, 15 cell phones, more than $290,000 in cash, three sets of scales and zipper bags.
He was accused of drug trafficking, trafficking in the proceeds of crime and possession of firearms.
He pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to a maximum of three years and three months in prison, but was released after serving a 20-month non-parole period, the jury was told Tuesday.
The trial before Judge Nicole Noman continues.