Dugong masked dope

Man in court over cannabis hidden in meat

A FAR Northern man hid cannabis under dugong meat as part of a scheme to import drugs into Australia.

A father of eight, Charles Neville Aniba was struggling financially so he turned to drugs as a way to make money.

Yesterday the Bamaga man pleaded guilty in the Cairns Supreme Court to trafficking and importing cannabis, conspiracy to import cannabis and aiding and abetting importing cannabis into the country.

The offending was committed between March and August last year at Bamaga and within the Torres Strait and involved the proposed importation of cannabis from Papua New Guinea into Australia.

It began with a plan between Aniba and a man in Papua New Guinea to import 10kg of cannabis.

“The other man left PNG, made it into Australian waters before the outboard motor on his boat seized up,” Commonwealth prosecutor Chris Moore said.

He returned to PNG and that transaction did not occur.

The pair, with a third man from Papua New Guinea, then hatched a second plan to import 200kg into Australia, which didn’t occur.

Mr Moore said Aniba successfully received 120 packages of cannabis, each weighing about 60 grams with a total weight of 7.2kg, hidden under dugong meat. Aniba was employed at the sea freight company used to move the drugs.

“He proceeded to provide quantities of cannabis to customers for them to then sell as street level dealers,” Mr Moore said, adding that the wholesale value was between $36,000 and $48,000.

There was an agreement between Aniba and his supplier that he would pay for the cannabis with firearms and cash.

Defence barrister James Sheridan said his client had found himself in financial hardship.

The court heard he was $7000 behind in rent and the cost of living was too high.

Matters were adjourned to next week and Aniba was remanded in custody.