Updated
The future of a football club on the edge of Arnhem Land is in serious doubt after players used a club-funded charter flight to smuggle drugs and alcohol into a dry community.
Key points:
- Jabiru Bombers Football Club staff caught a player trying to smuggle eight bottles of alcohol
- Police then uncovered another 39 bottles of spirits, 90 grams of cannabis and cask wine
- The club president detailed a range of attempts it made to stamp out the behaviour
On Sunday police searched a charter flight that was taking Jabiru Bombers Football Club members to Gunbalanya and found 39 bottles of spirits, 90 grams of cannabis and a two-litre cask wine.
But before police arrived, a search by the club’s own staff had already turned up a further eight bottles of alcohol in a bag.
Club president Ian Douglass said it was “promptly confiscated and tipped out” and the player responsible was banned from playing with the club.
The six offenders turned up by police will be issued with notices to appear for bringing liquor into an alcohol-protected area and for drug offences.
‘This should not be a reflection of the club as a whole’
About half the players that represent Jabiru, the town on the edge of world-heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, are from Gunbalanya, which is 57 kilometres away but only accessible via air during the dry season as the East Alligator River floods.
The football club is forced to fork out $3,000 for charter flights every week, to move those players from Gunbalanya to games in Darwin.
While the smuggling of drugs and alcohol has long been an issue, Mr Douglass said the club had made every effort to stamp it out.
He said they conduct bag searches before players board flights, attempt to educate players about the pitfalls of drug and alcohol misuse and impose a code of conduct for all club members, complete with sanctions and penalties.
“Despite all of the precaution’s that we take — and for whatever reason — certain individuals choose to embark on this destructive behaviour,” he said.
“This should not be a reflection on the club as a whole and the hard work that we do to provide, through football, an healthy alternative to residents of Jabiru and the remote communities of Kakadu and West Arnhem.”
But he said the recent incident may now have jeopardised the local sponsorship they relied upon heavily.
“The current situation that the club faces is indeed dire given that we draw around 50 per cent of our player base from Gunbalanya and tough decisions need to made whether to continue that association given the latest events and the damage to the club’s reputation that this has caused,” he said.
“I would even go as far as to say that the club’s future is in serious doubt.”
Mr Douglass said the club would be available to help police and AFLNT with their ongoing investigations.
Behaviour ‘can lead to significant harm’
Commander Michael Hebb said NT Police would be seeking discussions as soon as possible with representatives of the football club and the football league.
“Football players have an opportunity to establish themselves as role models within remote communities,” he said.
“This type of behaviour sends the wrong message to others, particularly the younger members of the community, and can lead to significant harm.
“Anyone with information on the transportation of alcohol or drugs into communities is asked to notify police on 131444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
Constable First Class Matthew Houghagen said if the alcohol reached the community it undoubtedly would have resulted in a “number of incidents”.
The AFL Northern Territory issued a statement this afternoon, saying it was aware the investigation.
The representative body said it was helping police with inquiries and would be reviewing the matter in greater detail when the AFLNT executive meet tomorrow.
It said it would be in a position to provide further comment once more details have been ascertained and the executive had met.
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