Trio arrested after allegedly flying plane from NSW into outback South Australia

Police have arrested three people at an outback karaoke bar after they allegedly flew a private plane from virus-stricken NSW into rural South Australia.

Police have arrested three people after they allegedly flew a private plane from virus-stricken NSW into rural South Australia, in a clear breach of Covid-19 travel directions.

South Australian police said the trio were arrested in the outback town of Coober Pedy, 846km north of Adelaide, in the early hours of Saturday.

Police alleged their plane left Griffith, in the NSW Riverina, and landed in Coober Pedy on Thursday, which the force said was “against cross-border directions”.

The trio, flying a Cessna plane, then tried to land in the Northern Territory on Friday but were denied entry because they were from NSW, police said.

They were returned to the outback opal mining town and found by police at a local karaoke bar just after midnight.

Due to a worsening outbreak in NSW health authorities have ordered residents not to travel interstate, unless they have an exemption.

A 39-year-old woman, a 21-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man – all from New South Wales – were arrested and charged with failing to comply with the Emergency Management Act.

They were refused police bail and will appear in the Magistrates Court on Monday.

South Australia shut its borders to NSW on Wednesday, with exemptions existing only for returning South Australian residents and people relocating, as well as those escaping domestic violence.