Audacious plot to smuggle 850kg of cocaine detailed in WA court

How half a billion dollars worth of cocaine was stowed on a ship containing chicken food in South America and brought to Western Australia will be laid bare before a jury over the next three months.

Five people have pleaded not guilty to being involved in a failed plan to bring the drugs into the country via WA, but on Monday prosecutors told the WA Supreme Court that each played a role – including the ship’s captain.

The mammoth trial kicked off with prosecutor Steven Whybrow, SC, telling the jury that 850 kilograms of cocaine would have made it to Australian shores were it not for the bungled attempt by three of the alleged involved to pick the drugs up from the ship.

The comedy of errors began aboard the MV St Pinot bulk carrier in Argentina in April 2023. It was loaded with soybean meal that was being imported to WA to feed chickens.

Whybrow alleged the ship was also carrying 850 kilograms of cocaine that was wrapped in bricks and sealed in waterproof bags before being stowed underwater in a ballast tank.

The plan, he claimed, was that the captain, Montenegro national Milan Begovic, would stall mooring at Fremantle Port by “drifting” offshore long enough for three men to pick up the cocaine in a small boat.

That plan fell apart, however, when the men – only two of whom are on trial – bungled the purchase of a boat after they lost one, and then had to be rescued from another.

Terrence Baker and Lithuanian national Germanas Joneliunas had allegedly been frantically searching for a boat in Perth in the days leading up to May 24, 2023.

They allegedly enlisted the help of Meagan Rees and Ashley Vlotman, and created a group chat using the disappearing message application Signal to discuss the purchase.

The men ultimately paid $65,000 in cash for a 10-metre cabin cruiser called No Fixed Address.

Baker, Joneliunas and another man took off from Coogee Marina but soon hit rough waters near Rottnest.

Baker then allegedly called his mum, telling her he was in trouble at sea. She dialled triple zero and water police towed the trio to Rottnest Island.

It was there that suspicions were raised, causing police to search the boat, and later the St Pinot, with the Royal Australian Navy brought in to retrieve 29 packages of cocaine.

Begovic’s lawyer Paul Bevilacqua told the jury on Monday that his client had no idea there were drugs on his ship, and there were others working shifts who could have been responsible for coordinating their drop-off.

The trial continues.

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Rebecca Peppiatt is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in crime and courts.Connect via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement