Sam Fisher co-accused Chemsi Niard dodges jail time after cocaine found under Applecross mansion mattress

A young Perth mum caught up in a cross-country drug smuggling operation involving former AFL star Sam Fisher has dodged jail time. On what was to be the first day of her District Court trial in April, Chemsi Alexandra Niard had allegations of supplying cocaine and possessing $129,000 in cash, believed to have been unlawfully obtained, dropped by prosecutors. The mother-of-two was alleged to have been part of a drug operation involving Fisher, the former St Kilda player, in Victoria and Julien Morvan in WA. But prosecutors offered Niard the lesser drug charge of possession in exchange for a guilty plea and she was sentenced on Tuesday. Her high-profile lawyer Tom Percy indicated that he did not think it was worth trying to argue that the 24.1g of cocaine found under his client’s mattress — with just 19 per cent purity — was for her use only. The approach to negotiate was made by the State, he revealed. “This is not mine. I mean, I do not want that. I found it,” Niard told police when they raided her sprawling Applecross home in April 2022. After reading psychological and pre-sentence reports and two character references, Judge Karen Shepherd praised Niard for getting off cocaine while she was on bail, proved through regular testing as part of her Family Court case. “You wouldn’t be the first person who when confronted by police didn’t necessarily tell the truth,” Judge Shepherd added. Niard had married at age 20 into a wealthy Maldives business family, with interests in tourism and export. But after a break-up that the judge described as “catastrophic”, she took up work as an escort. Judge Shepherd said Niard took cocaine partly to alleviate attention deficit disorder after she stopped seeing her doctor, who had previously prescribed dexamphetamine. The judge urged Niard to stop being an escort, saying she was concerned it would expose her to drugs once more, which she may be tempted to take to “block out negative aspects” of her work. She had previously used cocaine “to get yourself through work and through the nights”, Judge Shepherd said. “I get it, I’ve read about your history. It seems to me you really slipped into cocaine use when things were very hard for you,” Judge Shepherd said. She said she was not satisfied Niard’s offending met the threshold for imprisonment and the State agreed, suggesting a community-based order. The judge said a non-custodial penalty gave Niard the opportunity to be an “active mother” to her children, aged four and seven. “And secondly she’s got a lot of potential intellectually, but all that would be lost if she were forced back to what she was doing before,” Judge Shepherd said. She said Niard would benefit from support in the community, suggesting she might finish a law degree she had commenced or study medicine. “Don’t stuff it up because you have the future in your hands,” Judge Shepherd said. She imposed a 12 month intensive supervision order, compelling Niard to comply with any necessary treatment instruction from her community corrections officer. She must not leave the State without permission and must undertake programs to address issues underlying her offending. Niard not only dodged jail - with the maximum penalty for her offence being two years’ imprisonment and a $2000 fine or both - but also community service, and curfew or monitoring requirements. When she was arrested, Niard worked under the name of Skyla Rose and charged $600 per hour for “a luxury experience with attentive care and flirty conversation”. “I’m often described as vivacious, intoxicating and most importantly, genuine. I’m a party-seeking European beauty with a unique twist,” her advertisements stated. Under the interstate police sting named Operation Kingston Bullion, detectives uncovered almost a kilogram of high-purity meth, a stash of cocaine and nearly $130,000 in cash. Morvan was jailed for six years in March 2023, while Fisher was sentenced in May to five years and four months behind bars.