Five men have been charged after allegedly organising a "black flight" from Papua New Guinea to Sydney carrying 52 kilograms of methamphetamine in duffle bags.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the men, all from New South Wales, are members of a "transnational serious organised crime" syndicate, which it has been watching for several months.
Police say on Monday, two men co-piloted a twin-engine Beechcraft light aircraft from Wilton, south west of Sydney, to the rural town of Monto in Queensland's North Burnett region, to refuel.
They then flew to Bulolo in PNG, where they allegedly collected 52kg of methamphetamine, hidden in duffle bags.
It is alleged the pilots Bernard Alexander, 51, and John Horvath, 52, returned to central Queensland on a "black flight", turning off the plane's transponder, and flying at low altitude to avoid detection.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein said the drugs were worth $15 million on the street.
"If you look at this size of this attempted importation that was essentially stopped, you're talking about 520,000 individual hits or deals," he said.
AFP Commander Kate Ferry said three of the men were closely linked to the aviation industry.
"These men have not only allegedly imported a dangerous drug into Australia, but flying at low altitude without proper instructions poses a huge safety risk for other aircrafts," she said.
They were met at the Monto airstrip by AFP officers, who say they seized five duffle bags from the plane.
Police raided homes and businesses in Wilton, Tahmoor, Wollongong and Newcastle, and made further arrests including a 40-year-old Wilton man.
The Wilton man was allegedly the principal facilitator of the importation, working on behalf of other people funding the importation and with access to the supply of drugs.
Newcastle man Peter Payne, 54, allegedly helped transport a tank of aviation gas to central Queensland for the pilots to refuel, while police say another man create 17 mobile phone accounts in his name.
The five men were charged with importing commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, and four appeared before Bundaberg Magistrates Court yesterday.
Mr Payne appeared via video link this morning and was denied bail.
Police say the "black flight" is not the first attempt by members of this group to transport illegal substances from PNG into Australia.
It's alleged the men attempted to import 550kg of cocaine from PNG in 2020, but the plane crashed during take off.
The pilot of that venture is serving an 18-year prison sentence in PNG.
