A Norwegian commerical diver has been sentenced to nine years and 11 months’ imprisonment for attempting to smuggle 80 kg of cocaine into Australia.
Jon Birger Karlsen, 53, and his co-accused, Johan-Martinius Halvorsen, 35, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug in January 2023.
The two men were part of an international crime syndicate that flew Karlsen into Brisbane and bought him almost AU$60,000 worth of scuba diving equipment and diver propulsion vehicles (DPVs).
The pair were tasked with recovering the cocaine from the Cypriot-registered bulk carrier MV Stalo while it was berthed in the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales.
Karlson and Halvorsen were spotted by a local ferry crew making a practice run, but unknown to them, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had already been tipped off about the drugs and had removed them from the ship.
AFP officers were waiting for the two men when they made their attempt to recover the now non-existent cocaine.
The pair’s defence lawyer said that Karlson was not aware that he was participating in a criminal activity, however, presiding Judge Roy Ellis said that while he could accept that the men may not have known the precise quantity of cocaine they were sent to retrieve, he questioned how there could be ‘any other inference other than retrieving something that was brought illegally’ into the country.
Judge Ellis said a sentence of 12 years was appropriate for Karlsen’s crime, but applied a 15 per cent discount in lieu of the Norwegian’s assistance in providing information to the police.
Karlsen must serve a minimum of four years and 11 months before he is eligible for parole.
His partner in crime, Halvorsen, was sentenced to 12 years in jail with a minimum term of five years and nine months.
