Ben Cousins is facing two fresh drug charges after being arrested over an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this year.
The fallen AFL star was arrested by police in August after allegedly breaching a violence restraining order taken out against him by his ex-girlfriend Maylea Tinecheff.
During a routine search in custody, police allegedly found a bag containing 13 grams of methamphetamine stashed in the father-of-two’s anus.
Since his arrest at the Canning Vale house in south Perth, he has been charged with a further two counts of possessing a prohibited drug, Perth Now reported.
The fresh charges bring his offence tally to 18. Included in that count is burglary, aggravated stalking and possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply.
Ben Cousins (pictured) is now facing two fresh drug charges after being arrested over an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this year
Ben Cousins is also facing charges for breaching a violence restraining order, burglary, aggravated stalking and possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply
Cousins will appear in Armadale Magistrates Court on Friday for the two drug possession charges. He will appear via video link from Hakea prison.
He is also scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on December 19 for the remaining 16 charges.
The court appearances are just another juncture in the long and sad fall from grace for the former West Coast Eagles player.
This year’s AFL grand final in September should have been a celebration of sorts for Cousins.
If all had gone to plan, the troubled ex-footballer would have watched his West Coast Eagles beat Collingwood from his seat among 100,000 fans at the MCG.
Cousins was working with the team earlier this year in a development role after being released from prison for stalking his ex-girlfriend.
Initially the role appeared a masterstroke, as Cousins kept out of trouble and smiled in a photograph alongside two of the club’s young stars – Liam Ryan and Willie Rioli.
That photo is now a sad reminder of what could have been.
Since his retirement in 2010 Cousins (left) has battled drug addiction and had several run-ins with the law, including being jailed for 12-months in 2017 for stalking his ex-girlfriend Maylea Tinecheff (right)
Better times: Ben Cousins (centre) smiles alongside Willie Rioli (left) and Liam Ryan (right) earlier this year in his community development role with the West Coast Eagles
Having regularly been in trouble with police since his 2010 retirement, the law finally caught up with Cousins in early 2017 when he was jailed for stalking his ex-girlfriend.
The footballer received a 12-month prison sentence, with a court hearing he ignored a VRO and sent Maylea Tinecheff more than 2,000 texts.
West Coast said at the time of the job offer upon release they hoped their decision to help out a former favourite son would ‘have mutual benefits for both parties’.
After just a few months in the job things began to go pear-shaped for Cousins, when he soon went missing without any explanation.
West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett soon confirmed the retired superstar had left the role in early April.
Over the next few months little was seen or heard from the 2005 Brownlow Medalist, but in August his world came crashing down once again.
Cousins was offered a role working with his beloved former club upon his release from prison in January. But just three months into the role he unexpectedly stopped turning up for work
The last time West Coast won a premiership in 2006, Cousins (pictured with Chris Judd) was a key component of the team
When the father-of-two appeared in court in August after allegedly breaching the VRO against his ex-girlfriend and hiding meth in his anus, he pleaded with a magistrate to grant him bail.
‘I am the victim in this. To be the subject of ridicule and embarrassment, and I know I’ve brought a lot of that on myself, but I don’t act out in violence,’ Cousins said.
‘I beg you, I beg you, I’m not a threat.
‘Every day I close my eyes when the sun goes down and I spew that it’s another day I’m not going to be with my children.
‘Someone in my situation, you should use it as an example of hope, that things will work out. Not the opposite.’
He then tearfully told his lawyer: ‘I can’t go back to jail’.
Despite his harrowing pleas, the fallen footballer was denied bail and returned to jail.
A heavily-bearded Cousins poses for a photo with a member of the public earlier this year
Days after his traumatic court appearance it was revealed a homeless Cousins lived in a Perth brothel in the months prior to his arrest.
At his lowest, the AFL great reportedly tried to sell off the 2005 Brownlow medal he won by being named the best player in the game that year.
But friends claim the prized medal had been taken off Cousins by his father Bryan.
Cousins has previously spoken in depth about his struggles with drug addiction, and in a 2010 documentary revealed the extent to which he used drugs during his career.
‘I’m a drug addict, just flat-out. Yeah, I was drug-f**ked,’ Cousins said.
‘It was fast, it was good. They were good times. Alcohol wasn’t the big thing for me at the time. It was all about drugs for me.
‘I wouldn’t have butter on my toast, let alone a truck load of beer… (but) I’d take drugs and I would train and f***king train and obsess and play good footy.
‘I knew that at the end of that one week block, two week block or sometimes on the month, I would absolutely annihilate and launch into as much drugs as I could.’
THE TROUBLED LIFE AND TIMES OF BEN COUSINS:
1996 – Makes AFL debut with West Coast and is named the league’s Rising Star
2001 – Named club captain of West Coast at age 23
2002 – Breaks his arm falling down a flight of stairs at a nightclub months after punching his teammate Daniel Kerr
2005 – (May) Is quizzed by police about association with underworld identities
– (September) Wins Brownlow medal as the AFL’s best and fairest player
2006 – (February) Swims across a Perth river to escape a booze bus
– (September) Wins AFL premiership with the Eagles
– (December) Is arrested after passing out in front of Melbourne’s Crown Casino and spends four hours in jail
Cousins after the 2006 AFL Grand Final
2007 – (March) Suspended by West Coast after missing training session
– (April) Goes to a drug rehabilitation facility in the US
– (October) Revealed to have visited fellow Eagles legend Chris Mainwaring twice on the night he died of a drug overdose
– (October) Arrested and charged with drug offences that are later dropped
– (November) Eventually sacked by West Coast and banned from the AFL for one year
2008 – AFL re-registers Cousins and he is signed by Richmond
2010 – Retires from the AFL but releases autobiography and documentary
2015 – Arrested three times before leading police on a slow-speed car chase
2016 – (June) Spotted behaving erratically and directing traffic on a highway
– (October) In and out of court over drug offences and breaches a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner
2017 – Jailed for one year for breaching restraining order by calling his ex-lover thousands of times
2018 – (January) Released from jail on parole just 10 months into his sentence
– (August) Arrested and charged with drug possession, and breaching restraining order
Source: AAP
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.