Three Papua New Guinean men and an Italian foreign national, who were arrested and charged for two counts of attempting to smuggle illicit substances out of the country and into Australia, left the Waigani National Court House in Port Moresby yesterday with their heads hung low after they were handed their guilty verdict by National Court Justice, Panuel Mogish in front of their friends and families. The four men, Carlo D’Attanasio from Italy along with the Papua New Guineans Shane Dikana, Dominic Terupo and Morgan Mogu, were apprehended in Central province back in 2020, for possession of 611 kilograms of Cocaine/Narcotic Drug valued at K200 million. Their very action was a breach to Section 508B (1) and (3) (a) of the Criminal Code (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2015. According to the findings, all four had conspired to transport the narcotics to Australia when they were caught and taken into custody after a joint operation by both the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). Justice Mogish stated that of the two counts that they were charged with, the four men were found guilty of the first count but were acquitted of the second count on a technicality that the illicit substances were already in the country when they were intercepted. “The issue for me to determine is whether the State had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Morgan Mogu and Dominic Terupo and Shane, had assisted Carlo transport the property into Papua New Guinea.” All four men will return to court on the 13th of February 2024 to receive their sentencing. This is by far the biggest drug bust in the pacific to date.