Two Archibald Prize finalists were allegedly selling drugs, a court has been told.
Four-time finalist Benjamin Aitken, 30, and fellow Archibald finalist Shannon McCulloch, 26, appeared in front of the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.
Mr Aitken is charged with drug offences including trafficking cocaine, ketamine and methamphetamine, possessing cartridge ammunition and a sawn-off shotgun and having $6,915 as the proceeds of crime.
Fellow artist Mr McCulloch is charged with trafficking cocaine, ketamine and methamphetamine and possession of drugs, negligently dealing with $6,915 believed to be the proceeds of crime.
He denies all charges.
Their lawyers successfully argued while the charges were serious, they could be heard in front of a magistrates court. Prosecutors did not oppose the application.
The artists were staying at an inner city apartment when police raided the property in October 2021, the court was told.
Mr Aitken allegedly told police officers they would find a sawn-off shotgun and drugs in the search and gave them the location of the weapon, prosecutor Bill Baarini told the court.
They also found numerous ziplock bags containing drugs, he said.
Officers who searched Mr Aitken’s phone allegedly found a note with a “menu of drugs” including prices that matched one on the encrypted Wickr app, along with notes containing draft menus, tick lists and money he was owed, according to a summary, the court heard.
According to the summary, Mr Aitken allegedly used the name “lanadealrey” – a play on the popular singer Lana Del Ray – and advised customers he would change his username to “Dallasbuyer”.
Police alleged the pair was running a drug trafficking syndicate using the Wickr app.
Lawyer Belinda Franjic said her 30-year-old client had no prior criminal history, spent six weeks in custody on remand and when he was granted bail in December, undertook drug rehabilitation to tackle his addiction issues.
She said Mr Aitken was an accomplished artist with a high profile who was a finalist for the Archibald Prize four times.
“[He] is a young, talented, up-and-coming artist,” Ms Franjic told the court.
The alleged crimes were “unsophisticated” and were carried out in the context of drug addiction, she said.
He would be pleading guilty to the charges.
Mr McCulloch is also a well-respected artist who won several prizes and had been staying over with Mr Aitken when police conducted a search of the property, lawyer Steven Pica said.
He said there were no fingerprints or DNA frxjmtzywom him that were found on the firearm, which is why the charges were dropped.
The younger man was also the recipient of the Brett Whiteley art scholarship and his painting of Mr Aitken secured him a spot in the prestigious Archibald Prize.
He will be pleading not guilty to the charges, Mr Pica told the court and is expected to appear in July.
Mr Aitken will appear for a plea hearing in April.
They will both return to court at later dates.
