A long-time friend of former AFL footballer Ben Cousins has appeared in court via a prison videolink to face charges arising from one of Australia's biggest ecstasy busts.
Fabian Quaid, 31, is among four men facing life sentences if convicted on charges linked to the biggest haul of methamphetamine ever recorded in Western Australia.
The four, alleged to be members of a drug syndicate, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court via videolink from Perth's Hakea prison following their arrests in May in connection with the 45kg haul of MDMA.
The other three facing charges are Dimitrios Papadimitriou, 39, of Queensland, Rade Ljboja (pron la-boaya), 58, of NSW, and Dejan Medan, 29, of Victoria.
The court has been told more than 50,000 telephone intercepts were made in an operation that led to the bust.
Papadimitriou, Ljboja and Medan were arrested in Perth while Quaid was extradited to WA following his arrest at his home on Sydney's northern beaches.
Quaid, a taekwondo expert, was arrested on May 19 at his Manly apartment, where Cousins reportedly stayed last year on his return from Los Angeles, where he was hospitalised after an alleged cocaine binge.
Quaid is charged with conspiring to traffic a commercial quantity of MDMA and is alleged to have arranged to take possession of the drugs and organise their distribution.
Cousins is planning a return to the AFL next season after a 12-month ban, but must first convince the league he has overcome a drug addiction.
