‘Meth flight’ in hard landing

‘Black’ op ends poorly

FIVE New South Wales men were arrested for allegedly orchestrating a “black flight” from Papua New Guinea to Australia with 52kg of methamphetamine on board when the plane stopped to refuel in rural Queensland.

The men allegedly imported the $15m worth of meth during the international flight while flying at a low altitude to avoid detection.

Australian Federal Police allege that the flight landed at a small airstrip in Monto, west of Bundaberg, where three of the men allegedly provided ground support for the flight.

Police allege the group included a Wilton man, 40, Newcastle man, 54, and a man of no fixed address, 40.

The three men had allegedly been in the region since February preparing for the flight.

Police allege that between March 20 and 21, the pilot, a 51year-old Fairy Meadow man, and co-pilot, a 52-year-old Tahmoor man, flew a twin-engine Beechcraft light aircraft from Wilton, a rural area southwest of Sydney, to the town of Bulolo in PNG, which is more than 250km northwest of Port Moresby.

The pilots had refuelled in Monto before continuing on to PNG.

Their movements were monitored by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary from Lae in PNG.

It will be alleged the pilots collected 52kg of methamphetamine in PNG and then flew back to Monto at an unauthorised low altitude with the aircraft’s transponder switched off in an effort to avoid radar detection.

When police made the arrests on Tuesday, they allegedly found five duffel bags concealed in the plane, containing about 52kg of meth.

Following the arrests, the AFP and NSW police executed search warrants at four homes and businesses in Wilton and Tahmoor, the Wollongong suburb of Fairy Meadow and the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend. They seized electronic devices, firearm parts, drug paraphernalia and documentation referencing aircraft parts and travel to PNG.

Police allege the crime syndicate also allegedly used encrypted phones and messaging systems to communicate with other members of the supply chain based offshore.

All five men were charged with importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, and face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.

The Wilton man was allegedly the principal facilitator of the importation. It will be alleged he was the conduit to the people storing the drugs in PNG.

Four of the five appeared before Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The Newcastle man was due to appear in court on Thursday.

An AFP spokesman said the charges highlighted the lengths alleged criminal syndicates would go to in their bid to get illicit drugs to Australia.