AFP destroy $800m cocaine haul from failed PNG black flight
Police have destroyed 500kg of cocaine, which was seized by authorities in 2020 after a black flight from PNG headed for Australia crashed.
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Police from Australia and Papua New Guinea have watched the destruction of a major $800m cocaine haul, which was seized by authorities in 2020 after a black flight en route to Australia crashed.
The 500kg of cocaine, seized in PNG but later sent to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for forensic testing and storage in Australia, was destroyed at a secure facility in Queensland last month.
The destruction of the drugs took place a week before Australian Federal Police arrested 13 people, including a top Brisbane bikie boss, over what police allege is the largest cocaine bust in Australia’s history, with 2.34 tonnes of cocaine found on board a stranded broken down vessel about 10 nautical miles (18km) off K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island.
Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) Deputy Commissioner Donald Yamasombi and AFP Commander Stephen Jay supervised the transfer of the drugs from a secure AFP vault to a secure facility in Queensland, where they were incinerated.
Commander Jay said the cocaine would have had an estimated worth of about $800 million in 2020.
“It is now worth nothing thanks to the co-operation and the tenacity of all the agencies involved in Operation Weathers,” Commander Jay said.
“Had it arrived in Australia, the cocaine could have been sold as about 500,000 street deals, which would have caused considerable damage in the community.
“It was pleasing to witness the destruction with Deputy Commissioner Yamasombi, who knows all too well about the damage that illicit drugs also inflict on his country.”
Deputy Commissioner Yamasombi said the seizure of the cocaine was a victory for the neighbouring nations.
“The illicit drug trade hurts both our countries in very similar ways,” he said.
“As illicit drugs transit through PNG, our community suffers from the violence and criminality associated with this harmful trade.
“As the destination country, Australia experiences these problems, along with health and societal impacts caused by drug use.
“Once again our nations have worked together successfully to reach a mutually satisfying outcome.”
The import attempt was thwarted as part of Operation Weathers, which was a joint exercise conducted by the AFP, Queensland Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force (ABF), the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), and the RPNGC.
The operation resulted in five men in Australia and four men in PNG being charged over the alleged conspiracy after the light plane crashed north of Port Moresby on July 26, 2020.
It is understood the overloaded Cessna twin-engine aircraft crashed while attempting to take off from a remote airstrip north of Port Moresby, after arriving from Mareeba.
The plane had flown from Far North Queensland to PNG at 3000 feet (914m) in what investigators referred to as a “black flight” to avoid radar detection and any monitoring from authorities.
Five days after the crash, the RPNGC found the cocaine haul that was allegedly linked to the flight.
Queensland man David John Cutmore, who was pilot of the plane, handed himself in and was sentenced to 18 years in jail in PNG in 2022.
He has since appealed the sentence.
In September 2024, the PNG National Court of Justice handed down sentences of between 18 and 19 years’ imprisonment to the men.
According to PNG media, Italian yacht owner Carlos D’Attanasio faced the National Court in Bomana in September and was sentenced to 19 years on two counts of money-laundering.
Shane Dikana, 34, and Morgan Mogu, 38, of PNG and Dominic Terupo, 38, of Mortlock Island in Bougainville were sentenced to 18 years on two counts of money-laundering.
The court also ordered the drugs be destroyed and for a senior RPNGC officer to witness the destruction.
Four Australian men have also been charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled substance with their matters continuing through the courts.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have alleged the men were part of a Melbourne-based group that has links to Italian organised crime.
The arrests took place after a two-year multi-agency investigation.
The AFP utilises special waste disposal facilities to destroy illicit substances after they have been forensically tested and documented for evidentiary purposes.
The drugs are typically vaporised into steam in a furnace.
The remaining liquid then passes through a series of filtration systems to turn it into a harmless ash-like substance before it is released.
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