A Newcastle drug dealer who helped facilitate and finance the importation of 71 kilograms of ice on board a "black flight" from Papua New Guinea was nothing but a "small-time flunky", his lawyers claim.
They say he gave an encrypted phone to a syndicate member and provided "small change" for expenses, but was not on board the plane or a member of the ground crew on the day of the importation into Queensland in March 2023.
But prosecutors say Michael David Bridge, now 42, was "instrumental" to the formation of a major criminal syndicate that conspired to use a light plane to import $17 million worth of methamphetamine into Australia.
