Former Mokbel associate jailed

A FORMER associate of drug lord Tony Mokbel will serve at least 18 months in jail for his part in a major cocaine operation in Tasmania.

Mark Anthony Lanteri, 45, was yesterday found guilty of trafficking in cocaine in April 2015 by a jury of eight men and four women in the Supreme Court in Hobart.

Justice Stephen Estcourt sentenced Lanteri to 2½ years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 18 months, saying the crime was not “uncharacteristic”.

State prosecutor Jane Ansell told the court Lanteri was sentenced for trafficking can- nabis, ecstasy and methylamphetamines for Tony Mokbel in Victoria in 2006. He was also charged with possessing cash considered the proceeds of crime in 2007.

Defence lawyer Todd Kovacic said Lanteri was seduced by Mokbel’s lavish lifestyle but had “no talent in crime”.

In closing statements to the jury, Ms Ansell said Lanteri and another man had used pipes buried in remote locations to stash cocaine and cash in April 2015.

The jury heard police found about 200 grams of “high-end” cocaine worth at least $120,000 in the pipes buried near Belbins Rd at Cambridge and Centre Rd at Seven Mile Beach.

“The cost alone suggests why these steps were taken by these men,” she said.

“The method of storage, the placement of pipes, the numerous mobile phones in other people’s names, the words ‘I don’t want to say too much on here’ when on the phone, states that this is not a small enterprise. This is a sophisticated operation that was attempting to avoid detection by Tasmania Police.”

Ms Ansell said Lanteri was captured on police surveillance footage visiting the Centre Rd location following a coded phone call with another man.

On April 24, he was seen looking around “very nervously” before placing cocaine wrapped in a white cloth into the pipe, Ms Ansell said.

Two days later, he was recorded collecting a black square parcel, which Ms Ansell said was money, and trying to shove it down his pants.

DNA very likely belonging to Lanteri was also found on a sunglasses case filled with cocaine at the Belbins Rd site on April 2.

Mr Kovacic told the court there was no money trail linking Lanteri to the trafficking.

“You’ve heard nothing of Mr Lanteri’s bank records which show large transactions,” he said.

“Mr Lanteri’s house was searched, where are the wads of cash or drug paraphernalia like scales, snap lock bags or a cryovac machine?”

Lanteri was living in Kingston in 2015 but had since returned to Melbourne to live with his mother, Mr Kovacic said.