A failed attempt to collect cocaine from a bulk carrier off Western Australia led authorities to uncover a haul worth an estimated $500 million, a Perth jury has been told.
Prosecutors allege almost 850kg of cocaine was concealed aboard the MV St Pinot, which had travelled from Argentina to Fremantle carrying soy bean meal intended for use as chicken feed.
The Western Australia Supreme Court heard that three men set out in a boat called No Fixed Address to retrieve packages believed to have been dropped into the sea. Instead, they ran into trouble in rough conditions and had to be rescued by water police.
Steven Whybrow, the prosecutor, said the vessel had been bought for $65,000 in cash but had not been properly tested before the attempted collection. The men were allegedly equipped with new phones, coolers and fishing hooks to help locate and haul in the packages.
The cocaine was never removed from the bulk carrier. Acting on intelligence that a large shipment was heading towards Australia, authorities boarded the MV St Pinot and brought in Royal Australian Navy divers to search a water-filled ballast tank.
They found 29 packages of cocaine, carefully wrapped in waterproof coverings. The discovery triggered an investigation into the people allegedly responsible for bringing the drugs to Australia and arranging their collection.
Five people are on trial: the ship’s captain, Milan Begovic; Germanas Joneliunas and Terrence Baker, who are accused of attempting to import the cocaine; and Ashley Vlotman and Meagan Rees, who allegedly aided the operation.
Mr Whybrow described the prosecution case as complicated, comparing its various strands to the film Pulp Fiction and to a jigsaw puzzle that the jury would need to assemble.
The court heard that the seizure itself was not disputed. The central issue is whether the accused were involved in the alleged importation and who was intended to receive the cocaine.
The trial, being conducted with the assistance of two interpreters, is expected to last more than 10 weeks.
