When retired rugby league player John Touma's mum was murdered he turned to drugs, and it wasn't long before he ran a lucrative cocaine ring that boasted professional footballers as customers.

Touma, a back-rower with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in the 1980s, ran his empire from a Mermaid Waters unit, using a wine business as a front for his illicit dealings.

Former Roosters player John Touma arrives at the Brisbane Supreme Court Credit:AAP

He used former NSW State of Origin fullback Matt Seers as one of his couriers, and his clients included code-hopping star Karmichael Hunt and retired Origin utility Jason Smith.

The drug ring was uncovered through a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation, which led to seven Gold Coast NRL players being arrested and charged with drug offences in 2014 and 2015.