Hunt faces court grilling
Karmichael Hunt is set for a fiery courtroom showdown with the alleged drug lord at the centre of football's cocaine crisis.
Lawyers for John Touma, the alleged dealer, will make an application to grill the code-hopping star under cross-examination when the case returns to court on the Gold Coast next month.
Hunt was one of the first big-name sports stars caught by a crime and corruption commission investigation in to a multimillion-dollar cocaine trafficking network.
So far almost a dozen current and former elite footballers have been dragged in to the mess on charges ranging from supply and possession to drug trafficking.
Originally charged with four counts of supplying cocaine in February, Hunt sensationally took a plea deal for the lesser charge of drug possession and has provided investigators with an explosive witness statement implicating National Rugby League stars and his former teammates at the Gold Coast Suns in the scandal.
Touma was arrested in December and charged with drug trafficking after a nine-month operation that involved phone taps, vehicle bugs and covert surveillance.
However, Hunt's witness statement is also a key part of the prosecution and Touma's lawyer Chris Hannay wants to test the Reds rugby recruit in court when the case reaches a committal hearing stage, likely to be early next year.
Hunt, who has rejected claims he snitched on his mates, has said he expects to be called as a witness in Touma's trial, but that is likely to become a reality after the looming court application.
Hannay confirmed on Saturday he was hoping to question Hunt in court.
"We will be making an application to cross-examine witnesses and Karmichael Hunt has provided a witness statement," he said.
"We're looking forward to getting on with it because this has been a very stressful time for John and his family."
Seven past and present Gold Coast Titans will face court again in October.
Lawyers for the NRL stars are calling for the charges to be thrown out.
All seven have pleaded not guilty to supplying cocaine on dates including a player's buck's party and a Mad Monday booze cruise.
Suns players named in Hunt’s explosive statement have not been charged with any offences.
The Sunday Mail (QLD)
