Drug trafficking charges levelled against Mark “Bomber” Thompson have baffled veteran player agent Peter Jess, who claims the AFL greats financial circumstances are such that he is more likely “to buy the scale company” than be using scales.
Dual premiership coach Thompson, 54, has had seven charges laid against him including the alleged trafficking of ecstasy and ice, and was granted bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He is next due in court on May 25.
Long-time and outspoken manager Jess said he has known Thompson since his 202-game playing career at Essendon in the 1980s and '90s, although he is not Thompson's agent.
Mark Thompson (left) leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Photo: AAP
The 1993 premiership captain is believed to have been in a consortium that made a multimillion-dollar profit on property at Armstrong Creek in 2016, while Thompson last year spoke of his strong interest in cryptocurrency, saying that he had been investing in bitcoin.
“Knowing him in a real way, and knowing his financial circumstances, this is a guy who could afford to buy the scale company rather than use it,” Jess told The Age on Wednesday.
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“This concept of him trafficking drugs doesnt make any commercial sense to me.
“Im not sure why were dealing with the rats and mice. Hes not on that level. Hes on a different level.
“It just doesnt make any sense to me.”
Police have claimed a search of Thompsons Port Melbourne bedroom uncovered what was believed to be 134.6 grams of MDMA, 5 ½ Xanax tablets, 0.1 grams of ice, two sets of digital scales, eight hard drives, four ice pipes and a shoe box filled with clear resealable bags.
Police informant Detective Senior Constable Naomi Bourke claimed DNA testing had found Thompsons DNA on drug packages inside his side property.
Several football identities connected to Thompson said in the wake of the charges that the one-time defender had “gone underground” in recent months. Thompson hasnt worked at an AFL club since 2014, a year when he acted as stand-in Essendon coach while James Hird was serving a suspension for his role in the club's drug saga. Thompson had rejoined the Bombers ahead of the 2011 season as part of a “dream team” coaching panel with Hird, but both have fallen on hard times since the fallout from the supplements regime which led to 34 current and former Dons being suspended for the duration of the 2016 season.
Since leaving the club Thompson has held media roles at 3AW and Fox Footy, and has been an occasional contributor for The Age.
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Daniel is an Age sports reporter.
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