Man enters plea for alleged role in plane drug bust in 2023

One of the alleged masterminds behind a flight that transported $15 million (about K39,190,350 million) worth of methamphetamine in Queensland from Papua New Guinea has pleaded guilty.

Police say this is a major organised crime syndicate with a total of seven people arrested in a high-stakes operation.

Authorities pouncing on this black flight said the flight took off from Papua New Guinea in March 2023, packed with more than 70 kilograms of methamphetamine, slipping into a Monto Air strip in regional Queensland for a fuel stop on their way to New South Wales.

It was their final leg, but authorities were there watching and waiting.

Yesterday, a bombshell development. One of the alleged masterminds behind the botched transport pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of drugs. Mark Brian Pricey, one of five men arrested in March 2023.

Police said he was part of the ground crew who scouted airstrips for the transport and drove more than 1,000 litres of aviation fuel to Queensland from New South Wales' Hunter region. The alleged criminal operation has been months in the making.

The group allegedly communicating on more than a dozen burner phones. While Pricey pleaded guilty yesterday, he'll still have to wait some time to learn his fate, with the judge saying he should be sentenced at the same time as his co-accused, that could take several months.

One of the co-accused cases may go to trial, but Pricey was told he'll likely face a punishment of more than a decade behind bars.