After a two-year fight to keep his name secret, boxer Joseph Parker can now be identified as the high-profile sportsman allegedly connected to an international drug syndicate.
Parker was named in evidence in the 2019 trial of three men found guilty of trafficking methamphetamine from California.
But Parker himself was never charged - a search warrant on his house wasn't executed because he wasn't home and he refused to provide a statement to police.
He's denied - in a sworn affadavit - any involvement in the offending and went all the way to the Supreme Court in his bid for permanent name suppression.
But yesterday, the country's highest court rejected Parker's final appeal and gave him until this afternoon to tell who he needed to, before his name could be published today.
Speaking to media this afternoon, lawyer Michael Heron QC read a statement on Parker's behalf. Michael Heron was asked how his client explained messages between him and some of the convicted men, that formed part of the Crown evidence at their trial.
In a statement, the police reiterated there was insufficient evidence to charge Joseph Parker as part of its investigation into an international drug syndicate.
They said the investigation was thorough and Parker's status and profile did not influence its outcome.
