Four men accused of conspiring to import more than 540 kilograms of cocaine into Australia using a secretive "black flight" have been committed to stand trial in Queensland's Supreme Court.
The alleged importation attempt failed when the light aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from a makeshift runway in rural Papua New Guinea on July 26, 2020, the Cairns Magistrates Court was told.
It was told the plane had flown to PNG from Far North Queensland at low altitude to avoid radar detection.
Police had been monitoring the activities of the alleged syndicate they suspected was planning to import the drugs by intercepting phone calls and using surveillance devices.
Victorian men Aiden Anis Khodher, 33, Salvatore Formica, 35, and Pierino Forni, 63, and New South Wales man George Machem, 38, were arrested and charged in Australia after the plane crashed.
Lawyers for Mr Formica, Mr Forni, and Mr Machem argued in court for their clients to be discharged on the basis there was insufficient evidence for a jury to convict them of the alleged crime.
On Wednesday morning, after considering the evidence and taking submissions, Magistrate Kevin Priestly committed the four men to stand trial.
Mr Khodher and Mr Formica are also accused of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of cocaine using an earlier black flight in August 2018 — an attempt prosecutors allege was successful.
'Double what we did last time'
The complex, marathon committal hearing to determine whether the men would stand trial began in May and was held in instalments.
Magistrate Priestly said in determining whether Mr Formica, Mr Forni and Mr Machem should stand trial, he had "carefully considered [their] actions and conversations" captured in the prosecution material.
The court heard these included discussions about arrangements for charter flights, bank deposits, and movements on the ground in Far North Queensland.
One such conversation, Magistrate Priestly said, was between Mr Khodher, pilot David Cutmore, and Mr Machem about the difficulty of unloading bags ahead of the attempted 2020 importation.
There was a reference to Mr Khodher saying "it's going to be double what we did last time", the court heard.
"Machem joked about putting the bags on the roof of the car with straps: 'Imagine all that powder coming out the back'," Magistrate Priestly said.
The four accused remain on bail as they await their trial, with a date yet to be set.
Initially, the man accused of being at the helm of the "black flight", David John Cutmore, was listed to give evidence in the committal.
However, prosecutors then decided against calling him while he was facing prosecution in PNG and the subject of an arrest warrant in Australia.
