Melbourne pair linked to PNG plane crash cocaine haul
Two Melbourne men are facing life imprisonment over an alleged transnational drug running operation after they were linked to a plane that crashed in PNG carrying 500kg of cocaine.
Police & Courts
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Two Melbourne men linked to a plane that crashed in Papua New Guinea carrying a 500kg cocaine haul were part of an Italian organised crime gang taking “black flights” at low altitude to bring drugs into Australia, a court has heard.
Pierino Forni, 61, and Salvatore Formica, 33, are facing life imprisonment over the sophisticated transnational operation which was allegedly run out of Victoria’s capital.
The syndicate allegedly had a pilot involved who would fly light aircraft undetected at 3000 feet on the 850km journey between Mareeba in far North Queensland and a remote airstrip near Port Moresby to pick up the illicit cargo.
Police allege the plot involved bringing the drugs — the equivalent of about 500,000 street deals — back into Mareeba to then be packed into trucks and distributed around the country, in particular in Melbourne and Sydney.
But the alleged plan came unstuck when the Cessna light aircraft loaded with $80 million worth of cocaine crashed while attempting to takeoff at a remote airstrip near Port Moresby on July 26.
The Australian Federal Police allege the accused were driven by “greed”.
They could not rule out if the weight of the cocaine caused the crash.
Mr Forni, from Melbourne, and Mr Formica, from Niddrie, were among five men officers swooped on following a joint two-year operation.
The duo faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where the AFP successfully applied for them to be extradited to Cairns in Queensland to face charges of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The pair had argued to be freed on bail and appear for any hearings in Queensland via video link, so they can remain with their families in Victoria.
The court heard Mr Forni has a two-year-old daughter, and Mr Formica’s wife is expecting their first child.
They offered substantial sureties and even suggested they would wear tracking anklets.
But magistrate Trieu Huynh agreed with the prosecution that the pair were a flight risk as they had access to a private plane owned by Mr Forni, as well as large sums of money, false documents and bank accounts.
“The alleged offending is complex and lengthy … a level of sophistication,” Mr Huynh said. “There’s no question that both men face very serious offences.”
He did not accept submissions by legal counsel for Mr Formica and Mr Forni that it was a weak case “based on assumptions”.
The men’s lawyers will face the Supreme Court next Thursday to fight the extradition order.
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