A 24-year-old 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).
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While her Instagram is normally filled with glamourous outfit shots, and photos of her dining out at high end restaurants, Ms 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, Ms 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.
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.
“It was really scary!” she told the publication.
“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 offence two years imprisonment and/ or an $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 $220,000 fine.
Speaking about her brush with the law, Ms 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.
Ms 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 Ms Poo was given $200, a ticket into the festival and 40 free pills for supplying the drugs.
On July 20, 2022, NSW Police uncovered 125kg of cocaine which had been hidden in the base of an industrial generator. Valued at $50 million, a 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drug, supplying a prohibited drug (more than large commercial quantity) and participating in a criminal group and contributing to criminal activity.
A 32-year-old man was also arrested and charged with the above offences, as well as the use of an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention.
Assisted by UK and Australian crime authorities, a Branch Commander for the UK National Crime Agency, Lydia Bloomfield said the investigation “targeted a network we suspect was providing a rare and highly sophisticated service to other organised crime groups,” she said.
“A shipment of this quantity of cocaine from the UK to Australia is unusual but demonstrates the global scale of the class A drugs trade – which causes violence and intimidation throughout its supply chain.”
