The warning about our road toll, bye-bye to Ashley Bloomfield and more schools forced to lockdown due to threats in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
A 24-year-old Australian model has thanked her legal team after she avoided a criminal conviction for attempting to carry a condom filled with 5.6g of cocaine into a Sydney concert.
Student and Only Fans creator Grace Athanatos was caught by drug-detection dogs at a DJ MaRLo concert at Sydney Olympic Park on May 14.
Police found a knotted condom inside the Melbourne woman's vagina via a private room strip search. She was then charged with supplying drugs (less than a commercial quantity).
The student and model was caught with a condom filled with 5.6 grams of cocaine. Photo / Instagram
While her Instagram is normally filled with glamorous outfit shots, and photos of her dining out at high end restaurants, Athanatos had a slight change of tone this week, when she thanked her legal team for her result in court.
"HUGE shout out to my saviour @ahmeddob and his team at @dibassociateslawyers for helping me today," she shared to her 9000-plus followers.
"Honestly such an amazing result and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them. Highly recommend seeing them if you're ever naughty or find yourself in trouble like me."
Appearing at Burwood Local Court on Monday, Athanatos avoided a formal conviction and was given a 12-month conditional behaviour bond. She was represented by criminal lawyer Ahmed Dib from the Kogarah-based Dib & Associates Lawyers.
Athanatos thanked her legal team for the result. Photo / Instagram
Speaking to Daily Mail, the burgeoning influencer insisted she was a "nice girl" and "never intended to supply" the drug. She said she had planned to share her stash among her girlfriends and had only taken a single "bump" of cocaine prior to the bust.
"I was so shaken up and I just wanted to do the right thing and be nice.
"Obviously I wanted to have a little fun, I had a small amount and yes I tried to hide it – like everyone else – but I was caught."
Under NSW law, the maximum penalty for the offence is two years' imprisonment and/or an A$11,000 fine if dealt in at a local court. If the offence proceeds to the district court, it carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and/or a A$220,000 fine.
Speaking about her brush with the law, Athanatos said the case had been "blown up" but the judge was on her side.
"Their case was weak and the judge was so, so understanding and literally saw right through it," she said.
In 2018, Sydney woman Grace Poo was caught smuggling 1600 MDMA pills internally and in a "huge bra" into the Midnight Mafia music, which also took place at Sydney Olympic Park.
Poo was found with several condoms full of the drugs and jailed for two years, with a minimum sentence of a year. Court proceedings revealed Poo was given $200, a ticket into the festival and 40 free pills for supplying the drugs.
In New Zealand, a group accused of being involved in a South American drug smuggling ring who allegedly brought 50kg of cocaine worth millions of dollars into the country face a lengthy wait for trial.
Nine people deny almost 100 charges relating to allegations of a criminal group importing cocaine after a major 10-month police investigation saw a series of raids and arrests, mainly in Canterbury, in November last year.
Several of those arrested were farm workers originally from Colombia and face charges of importing the drug, participating in an organised group, and money laundering.
