Michael Mavromatis: Kimberley musician on trial in Broome accused of having meth posted to him

Kimberley musician Michael Mavromatis is facing trial over allegations that he had more than $60,000 worth of methamphetamine mailed to him in Christmas cards. The 66-year-old appeared before a 12-person jury in Broome District Court on Monday, having pleaded not guilty to the possession of nearly 28g of methamphetamine and $7200 cash in July 2021. It is alleged Broome police seized a package from Mr Mavromatis’s post box on January 15, 2021, which was found to contain a Christmas card with the pre-printed message, “From a not very wintery wonderland”, sealed shut with stickytape. It allegedly contained 13.92g of meth. During a search of Mr Mavromatis’s home two days later, police are alleged to have found two envelopes filled with $7200 of cash in the pocket of a suit jacket. It is also alleged that they found a glass smoking pipe, four Christmas cards printed with “From a not very wintery wonderland”, scales with traces of meth and a series of unused clip seal bags. Also found were Virgin Airline tickets to the Cocos Islands. Police went back to the post box on January 20, 2021, allegedly finding another package addressed to Mr Mavromatis — again a Christmas card with the same message and containing 13.7g of meth. Mr Mavromatic has since admitted to being in possession of $7200 but said it was for a holiday to the Cocos Islands, where there were no ATMs. During the trial’s opening statements, defence attorney Kate Turtley-Chappel said there was “a lot of dispute over what the evidence means”. She asked the jury to keep an open mind when hearing the evidence provided by the seven witnesses across four days. The trial is scheduled to continue until Thursday.