Bernard Hamilton Alexander sentenced for role in $17m meth flight

A previously law-abiding pilot and father’s “extraordinary” role in a secret smuggling flight between Papua New Guinea and Australia can be revealed along with wild onboard chats from a hidden recorder.

The intercepted Monto flight.

A law-abiding dad turned pilot on a $17 million-dollar meth flight from Papua New Guinea back to Australia has been sentenced.

Bernard Hamilton Alexander, a 53-year-old pilot from Fairy Meadow in New South Wales, pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Supreme Court to importing commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, a charge that carried with it the possible penalty of life in jail.

Alexander and several others were arrested in March 2023 for their roles in orchestrating a “black flight” a secret under the radar trip with the goal of importing 52kg of meth into the country.

In a summary of the facts read to the court on Wednesday, Justice Graham Crow said a flight piloted by Alexander had departed from Monto Airport.

It travelled to Papua New Guinea and on arrival, Alexander and another man collected 71.5 kilograms of substance containing meth of which 56.98 kilograms was pure.

The court heard the drugs were worth between $11-$17 million.

Police made arrests on the day of the return flight to Monto.

The meth was loaded onto the plan and the men returned to Australia, landing at Monto Airport.

The court heard the men had agreed to import controlled drugs into Australia from Papua New Guinea, with Alexander being recruited as a pilot to fly the plane.

Another man purchased the plane while others were also recruited as part of the venture.

Alexander and another man had received $500,000 each for their part in the arrangement, Justice Crow said.

The court was told Alexander had taken part in a number of flights related to the importation, with the first happening on November 12, 2022 when he flew to an airstrip in NSW to discuss bringing in drugs with another man.

The plane was purchased, and it was fitted with an extra ferry tank to extend the flying range of the plane.

On March 5, 2025, a surveillance device within the aircraft recorded a conversation between Alexander and his alleged co-pilot during which the two talked about the fuel being used, with one saying, “imagine if we go down on water”.

“We’re overweight ... mountainous area, I know we’ll be burning out gas to get over the worst of it,” the other man is alleged to have said.

On the day of his arrest, Alexander landed at Monto Airport and he was seen refuelling the aircraft and removing the PNG registration.

When the plane was searched, five large pink and white bags were located, secured with padlocks.

The pink bags full of meth.

Inside were 87 bags with white crystal substance and of those 30 of the bags were randomly selected for testing and found to contain meth.

The court heard Alexander had a good upbringing with his parents and brother.

He met his wife while on a tandem skydive in 1995 and they had welcomed three sons, but they were no longer together.

Alexander had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2010, Justice Crow said.

He was a non-smoker who had lightly used alcohol and never used illicit substances.

In 2004 and 2006 he had injured himself in skydiving landings.

Then, in 2020 he had a near-fatal microlight aircraft accident in which he sustained serious abdominal injuries.

Justice Crow described Alexander’s conduct as “really unexplainable”.

He said meth was “terrible drug”, adding that he had seen pictures of babies beaten to death by meth addicts.

“It’s extraordinary that a man like you with your limited criminal history would get involved in this venture. Just extraordinary,” he said.

Alexander was sentenced to 11 years in prison with a non-parole period of eight years.

Originally published as Bernard Hamilton Alexander sentenced for role in $17m meth flight