Police have dug up a truck they believe was used in a failed cocaine smuggling plot which claimed the life of a Brazilian diver in Newcastle harbour.
Organised Crime Squad detectives excavated the Mitsubishi Fuso after executing a search warrant at a property in Menangle, south-west of Sydney.
The discovery came several weeks after police renewed calls for information on the two-year anniversary of 31-year-old Bruno Borges-Martins' death in May 2022.
The truck was last seen travelling southbound on the M4 Motorway at Pennant Hills about 6.30pm on Sunday, May 8, 2022.
Hours later, Mr Borges-Martins was found floating in the port with bricks of cocaine totalling about 54 kilograms around him.
The location of a second Brazilian professional diver allegedly involved in the $20 million smuggling plan, 32-year-old Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva, remains unknown.
It is believed Mr Borges-Martins drowned due to complications with his diving equipment while he and Mr Da Silva tried to access the hull of the ship under cover of darkness.
The bulk carrier had sailed from Argentina via the Marshall Islands before arriving in Newcastle.
It is believed Mr Da Silva fled the port with millions of dollars worth of cocaine when Mr Martins failed to resurface and, despite extensive searches, including internationally, he has never been found.
Investigators believe he might have been killed by the importation syndicate to silence him after the scheme failed.
Photographs and video footage of the Menangle excavation site show the twisted wreck of a small white truck covered in dirt.
Two men remain before the courts facing charges related to the drug importation.
James Blake Blee Snr, 63, pleaded guilty last year to illegally smuggling the Brazilian nationals from Indonesia into Australia via Darwin so the pair could retrieve 108 kilograms of cocaine out of the sea chest of the bulk carrier Areti Gr Majuro.
Two days after Mr Borges-Martins' body and the cocaine were found floating in Newcastle Harbour, Blee Snr was arrested only moments before boarding a flight to Singapore with a one-way ticket and large quantities of US and Australian dollars.
Blee's son, Queenslander James Lake-Kusviandy Blee, who is the only other person arrested over the plot, has pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting his father's importation and dealing with the proceeds of crime of more than $100,000.
Detectives are continuing to appeal for any information about a Toyota Townace van with the NSW registration WNY439 which was seen travelling with the truck.
Investigations under Strike Force Groove are continuing.
