All rights reserved. These are external links and will open in a new window The light plane had taken off from Mareeba in North Queensland on Sunday and flew at a low altitude to avoid radar detection before landing at a remote airfield at Papa Lea Lea, north of Port Moresby.Police say it was then loaded up with drugs for the return flight to Australia. The aircraft collided over Mangalore, north of Melbourne, on Wednesday morning local time. Police say a small plane that crashed shortly after take-off in Papua New Guinea had been overloaded with cocaine destined for the Australian market. If convicted, they face life imprisonment. Sydney plane crash: Five Britons killed along with Australian pilot after aircraft comes down in sea.
These are external links and will open in a new windowPolice say a small plane that crashed shortly after take-off in Papua New Guinea had been overloaded with cocaine destined for the Australian market.Officers say the "greed" of the drugs gang played a part in their downfall.It is believed the Cessna had been carrying more than 500kg (1,100lb) of cocaine worth A$80m ($57m; £44m) when it crashed on Monday.Five men, all allegedly members of a Melbourne-based crime syndicate, have been arrested.In a statement, Australian police said the gang had been under surveillance for two years. Two of men were arrested at Atherton in Queensland An air tanker has crashed in a fireball while fighting bushfires in Australia, killing the three people on board. He has been charged with illegally entering PNG, and fined 3,000 Kina.Police say Cutmore is expected to face additional charges relating to the transportation of illegal drugs.While police believe they have established the rationale behind the clandestine plane flight, there remain unsolved mysteries.The plane is registered to a PNG company, Ravenpol No 69 Ltd, the sole director and shareholder of which was Geoffrey Bull Paul.But Paul reportedly died in August last year, stabbed to death in Port Moresby. With a value in excess of $80m, it is the largest drug bust in PNG’s history.At a press briefing, Manning said the discovery of the cocaine was confirmation PNG was being used as a transit point by drug dealers.Two days after the crash, the Australian man alleged to have flown the plane into PNG, David John Cutmore, handed himself in to the Australian high commission in Port Moresby. Two days after the crash, the Australian man alleged to have flown the plane into PNG, David John Cutmore, handed himself in to the Australian high commission in Port Moresby. "These arrests prove no matter how sophisticated or opportunistic organised crime's attempts are, or the methods they use, law enforcement is keeping pace and causing maximum damage to these criminal ventures," AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney said.They will be required at busy tourist sites and over 100 streets, amid fears of a resurgence. The plane crashed in bushland … A small plane bound for Australia crashed shortly after takeoff in Papua New Guinea last week – partially because it was weighed down by $80 million worth of cocaine stowed as cargo. [We] cannot rule out that the weight of the cocaine had an impact on the plane’s ability to take off.“We believe the PNG members of this criminal group assisted the pilot and retrieved the drugs from the plane,” he said.“Police are in possession of information related to the suspected PNG members of the group who have been involved in this criminal activity, including descriptions, unique features and tattoos.”The syndicate had allegedly prepared a truck with hidden compartments to transport the drugs south from Queensland.Late on Friday, Manning announced police – using sniffer dogs that detected traces of cocaine at the site of the plane crash – had uncovered 28 bags of cocaine weighing 500kg. NEW DELHI: Envoys from the US, Australia and Japan said they are deeply saddened to hear about the Air India Express accident in Kerala's Kozhikode and conveyed their thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
He was arrested and has been charged with an immigration offence.Police said the five men had links to Italian organised crime and were arrested in Queensland and Victoria shortly after the plane took off for Papua New Guinea. The drugs, in 28 bags, together with an unspecified amount of Australian currency were later retrieved by Australian and Papua New Guinea police.The pilot - an Australian - handed himself in to the Australian Consulate in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, police added. Police said the plane had flown to Papua New Guinea from North Queensland "The AFP (Australian Federal Police) alleges greed played a significant part in the syndicate's activities and cannot rule out that the weight of the cocaine had an impact on the plane's ability to take off," The wreck of the plane was found abandoned and empty a short distance from the airfield. “We will continue our joint efforts to see that those involved in PNG are brought to justice.” Divers recover bodies after seaplane nosedives into river and 'sinks rapidly' Australia's biggest meth bust: Drugs found hidden inside speakers Seal 'helps' bust alleged international drug ring in Australia Australia police find 400kg of drugs in hot sauce bottles An Australian man has been detained in Papua New Guinea amid an ongoing investigation into a plane crash, which police suggest may be linked to drug trafficking. The plane was registered in the name of his company – of which he is the sole director and shareholder – in January this year, five months after he died.The PNG prime minister, James Marape, said he was outraged that PNG was being used as a transit point for international criminal syndicates.“We are not a banana republic where anyone can pick up a plane and just come into PNG unannounced,” he said.