Death of Bruno Borges Martins: Strike Force Groove detectives find truck buried on Menangle property in hunt for missing Brazilian diver Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva
A crucial – and rather large – piece to the mysterious puzzle of what happened to a missing Brazilian scuba diver, hired to retrieve cocaine from a ship in Newcastle, has been discovered buried on a remote property.
Newcastle
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A large and crucial piece in the mysterious puzzle of what happened to Brazilian cocaine diver-for-hire Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva has been discovered in the dirt of a remote property southwest of Sydney.
Strike Force Groove detectives, set up to investigate the suspicious disappearance of Da Silva shortly after a failed attempt to extract 54kg from the hull of a ship in Newcastle Harbour in 2022, have excavated a truck believed to have been buried and dumped on a vast property at Menangle without the knowledge of the property owners.
The white Mitsubishi Fuso was one of two vehicles which organised crime squad investigators revealed on the second anniversary of Da Silva’s disappearance, which occurred after the discovery of the body of fellow Brazilian diver Bruno Borges Martins, 31, and 54kg of cocaine in Newcastle Harbour on May 9, 2022.
Detectives believe Da Silva is dead and strongly suspect he was murdered by the same drug cartel which had organised the botched attempt to retrieve the drugs in Newcastle.
Although there is a remote chance 32-year-old Da Silva may have also perished during the attempt and his body never recovered, police strongly suspect he was killed for either the failed attempt or to silence him.
The public plea on the second anniversary led police to execute a search warrant on the remote Menangle property on May 28 before finding the truck buried.
The owners of the property are not suspected of any wrongdoing and police believe the truck was secretly buried in the remote area to keep it away from law enforcement.
Strike Force Groove detectives released images of the truck and a van travelling in tandem back through Sydney the night before Borges-Martins’ body was discovered on the morning of May 9, 2022.
The vehicles were considered crucial in the investigation into Da Silva’s disappearance.
The vehicles were seen travelling southbound on the M4 Motorway, Pennant Hills, about 6.30pm on May 8.
Detectives are also appealing for any information about a Toyota Townace Van with the NSW registration WNY439 which was seen travelling with the truck.
Investigations under Strike Force Groove are continuing.
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