A well-known Canberra restaurateur awaiting trial for allegedly trying to import cocaine into the territory has cancer, a court has heard.
John Phillip Harrington has pleaded not guilty to attempting to import a marketable of cocaine, drug trafficking and an alternative count of drug possession.
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Police allege Harrington received a parcel from Chicago in July last year which contained 400g of cocaine.
He was arrested after police raided a unit in Fyshwick and a search of his Griffith apartment allegedly turned up a clip seal bag with 92g of white powder, suspected to be cocaine.
Harrington is due to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court in May, and has been on strict bail conditions including a $250,000 surety and a twice-weekly reporting condition.
But his bail was varied yesterday, allowing him to report to police by phone if his health problems stopped him attending a police station in person.
His lawyer, Kamy Saeedi, told the Supreme Court his client had been diagnosed with bowel cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Harrington, 61, has been a fixture of the city’s hospitality scene for decades.
The ACT Magistrates Court has previously heard he had financial interests in several ACT restaurants.
The lawyer said his client’s cancer was ‘‘type three’’ on a seriousness scale of one to four.
Mr Saeedi said the treatment rendered Harrington unable to drive and suffering from a number of side-effects including exhaustion.
The accused man was offered a job selling wines for a Murrumbateman winery last year after his release on bail.
But an affidavit containing material from Harrington’s doctors tendered yesterday suggested he would not be able to carry out his normal work duties.
Mr Saeedi initially called for the reporting condition to be lifted entirely, saying it had become ‘‘onerous’’ in light of his client’s diagnosis.
But Commonwealth prosecutor Katrina Musgrove said without the ability to monitor Harrington’s whereabouts the rest of the ‘‘suite of bail conditions’’ would be weakened.
Justice John Burns amended Harrington’s bail allowing him to phone in ‘‘if the accused is unable to report for health reasons’’.
Under the new bail agreement Harrington must tell police where he is and stay there for the next 12 hours so they can check up on him, unless he has to go to hospital.
The prosecution did not oppose the amendment. The remainder of the man’s strict bail conditions are still in force, including a ban on approaching within 100 metres of an airport and that he not leave the territory except to travel through NSW for work.
