Rising NRL star Reece Walsh has been arrested by Queensland Police and has admitted to being in possession of cocaine.
It came as vision of the arrest surfaced on social media, with onlookers watching on.
Queensland Police confirmed that at 12.15am on Sunday morning police officers from Surfers Paradise ordered a move on direction to a 19-year-old male.
He was then observed in the area 45 minutes later and arrested before being taken to Surfers Paradise Police Station.
A tearful Walsh fronted media on Sunday where he admitted to being in posession of cocaine.
“I was told by officers last night to move on. I didn’t move on which led to me getting arrested and taken back to the police station,” Walsh explained.
“Once I got back to the police station I was searched, and I was in possession of a small bag of cocaine which I had some of during the night.
“No one else is involved in this. This is solely on me. I should never have done it. It’s a mistake that I’ve made, and I’m aware of that. I’m remorseful and should never have done it.”
The Warriors confirmed they are looking into the matter and said Walsh would undergo drug and alcohol counselling.
“It’s been a tough period this morning to get through this for himself and his family,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said.
“It hurts the kid. He’s learning. He’s been exposed into a very big arena that carries a lot of responsibility and pressure. However none of that is an excuse for Reece, which he established this morning.
“We don’t condone this behaviour so we’ll continue to work through this situation with the NRL integrity unit and also our club in terms of sanctioning processes, but as it stands now he’s been charged on one count of possession of a prohibited substance and will attend court in mid October.
“Until that process is over, we won’t be going into any further detail.”
A video on social media platform TikTok appeared to show Walsh speaking with police before being placed in handcuffs and taken away from the area.
Walsh was one of the contenders to take home Dally M rookie of the year honours on Monday night, having already been crowned RLPA rookie of the year last weekend.
He will not attend the awards.
Story first published on Foxsports Australia