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Hunt fined after pleading guilty to drug charges

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Queensland Reds back Karmichael Hunt was fined A$2,500 ($1,955) by an Australian court on Thursday after pleading guilty to four charges of cocaine possession but will be allowed to continue his Super Rugby career after serving a suspension. The Australian Rugby Union added an additional $30,000 fine and suspended him for six weeks from the Queensland Reds. In what his lawyer described as a "misguided post-season celebration", Hunt bought cocaine on four separate occasions from a former professional rugby league player from Sept. 1 to Oct. 3, according to police allegations. The 28-year-old was summoned to court after an investigation by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission which also led to drug charges against eight current and former players from the Gold Coast Titans in Australia's top-flight National Rugby League. Hunt's lawyer Alastair McDougall told Southport Magistrates Court in the Gold Coast that Hunt had made "poor choices". He had bought a total of 12.5 grams of cocaine, in 3.5 gram 'eight-balls' worth A$1,100 on the first three occasions and another two grams on the fourth. "He'll be paying for those choices for the rest of his life," McDougall said. "His two young daughters, with a third on the way, must grow up knowing their father has broken the law." Though fined, Hunt avoided having a conviction on his record. The ARU and Reds, however, ordered him to go into a drug rehab program and will be placed on a "monitored and targeted drug testing program," the ARU said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed in Karmichael’s actions as illicit substances have no place in rugby," ARU CEO Bill Pulver said. "However, we acknowledge that he is sincerely remorseful and has co-operated with the investigation and our integrity enquiries throughout this process." A former rugby league international and one of Australia's highest-profile athletes, Hunt had played only one game for the Reds this year before being stood down pending the court hearing. Hunt converted to rugby this year after playing several seasons of top-flight Australian Rules football with the Gold Coast Suns. The drugs investigation has cast a shadow over the launch of Australia's National Rugby League season, with the Gold Coast Titans players yet to have their court hearings. ($1 = 1.2788 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Julian Linden/Greg Stutchbury)