Strike Force Groove: Police comb Lurnea granny flat during hunt for missing Brazilian diver Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva over Newcastle cocaine plot
A small western Sydney granny flat has emerged as a vital clue in the hunt for a missing Brazilian diver-for-hire, as police reveal new information on his disappearance after a deadly attempt to smuggle cocaine off a ship at Newcastle.
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Detectives investigating the suspicious disappearance of suspected diver-for-hire Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva have searched a small Sydney granny flat for more clues on whether he was murdered as they confirm their belief that the Brazilian scuba expert survived the botched attempt to recover dozens of kilograms of cocaine from the hull of a ship moored at Newcastle.
Specialist forensic experts performed luminol testing last week at the Lurnea granny flat where Da Silva is now understood to have been based for up to two months, including in the days after the failed attempt to extract the cocaine from the Port of Newcastle overnight in May 2022.
Luminol is used to search for traces of blood, including on surfaces which appear to a naked eye to be cleaned.
The experts also tested for fingerprints and DNA after executing the search warrant on the western Sydney granny flat at the rear of a home on June 19.
Da Silva’s whereabouts remain unknown since he was suspected of entering the water with fellow scuba diver Bruno Borges Martins sometime overnight on May 8 and May 9, 2022, using specialist breathing equipment which does not produce air bubbles as they attempted to retrieve the cocaine from the hull of the bulk carrier Areti.
The body of Borges Martins, 31, was discovered in Newcastle harbour on May 9, 2022, before 54kg of cocaine was retrieved nearby.
Strike Force Groove, run by organised crime squad detectives to investigate the deadly attempt, identified Da Silva shortly afterwards and has been trying to locate him.
The Daily Telegraph has previously reported that there were significant fears Da Silva had been murdered by the crime syndicate behind the attempted importation either because of the botched attempt or concerns he knew too much.
The confirmation on Monday that Strike Force Groove detectives now believe Da Silva returned to the granny flat after the failed importation for at least a few days, with police confirming he was known to be living at the Lurnea property shortly after the dive, rules out concerns he also perished during the attempt.
Police said in a statement on Monday that they believed Da Silva had used the granny flat for between one and two months.
Police are also investigating whether Da Silva somehow left the country and made his way back to Brazil.
The search warrant on the granny flat came three weeks after a truck was found buried on a vast property at Menangle without the knowledge of the property owners.
The white Mitsubishi Fuso was one of two vehicles which investigators revealed on the second anniversary of Da Silva’s disappearance last month to be linked to the cocaine importation plot.
There is no suggestion either the owners of the Lurnea or the Menangle properties, nor the new tenants, have any knowledge of the importation plot or Da Silva’s disappearance.
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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