Trial begins for five people charged over 850kg cocaine haul near Rottnest

Three men allegedly sent to collect cocaine from a cargo vessel off Rottnest Island ended up needing rescue by water police after their boat struggled in rough seas, the Western Australia Supreme Court has heard.

The men travelled aboard a vessel called No Fixed Address, bought for $65,000 in cash. Prosecutor Steven Whybrow told the jury that the boat had not undergone a sea trial before the trip. The men had new phones, coolers and hooks, which prosecutors say were intended to help pull drug packages aboard.

The cocaine remained on the MV St Pinot, a cargo ship that had sailed from Argentina to Fremantle carrying soybean meal for chicken feed. Prosecutors allege the vessel also carried almost 850 kilograms of cocaine, packed in waterproof blocks. Authorities boarded the ship after receiving information that a large vessel would bring drugs to Australia. The St Pinot was drifting near Rottnest rather than anchoring before unloading its cargo at Fremantle.

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dark and stormy night

Australian Border Force officers boarded the vessel, and Royal Australian Navy divers inspected a ballast tank filled with water. They found 29 packages of cocaine. The discovery itself is not disputed. The central issue is who brought the drugs to Australia and who intended to receive them.

The case involves five defendants. The ship's captain, 46-year-old Milan Begovic, is accused of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. Germanas Joneliunas, 24, and Terrence Baker, 29, are accused of attempting to import the cocaine. Ashley Vlotman, 40, and Meagan Rees, 35, are accused of aiding the attempt. Whybrow described the alleged plot as complex and compared its structure to the film Pulp Fiction and a jigsaw puzzle. The trial is expected to run for more than 10 weeks.

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Pulp Fiction