06 November 2014
Newsdesk
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot, according to a new report.
The Australian-born musician was arrested by New Zealand police Thursday following a raid on his home in Taraunga, on the country’s North Island, The Guardian reports.
Rudd will face charges of attempting to procure murder, threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis, according to the outlet.
The 60-year-old appeared in court Thursday afternoon but did not speak during the hearing.
He was released after making bail and ordered not to leave Tauranga.
Rudd did not address the media, leaving the court house in a late model Mercedes, according the the New Zealand Herald.
The musician joined AC/DC in 1975 and left the group in 1983, only to rejoin in 1994.
The band has plans to release a new album, entitled Rock or Bust, later this year.
The record marks their first compilation of new material since 2008’s Black Ice.
It’s also the first release since guitarist Malcolm Young announced he was suffering from dementia.
The Guardian notes Rudd has been a “notable absentee” from promotional material, with frontman Brian Johnson recently explaining the drummer was unavailable for a recent video shoot due to a “family emergency”.
