New twist involving chief ship engineer Radovan Vujicic as trials looms for five accused of cocaine bust

One of seven people charged over a massive cocaine haul found stashed inside a bulk carrier off Perth has had his charge dropped as an epic trial looms for the co-accused. Radovan Vujicic, 42, was the chief engineer on the Marshall Islands-flagged St Pinot, where authorities discovered a staggering 850kg of cocaine submerged in the ballast tank in May 2023. The spectacular bust unfolded after the pick up vessel — a 10m cabin cruiser named “No Fixed Address” — had engine trouble near Rottnest Island. An investigation was already underway after authorities received intelligence about a transnational plan to drop illicit drugs in the ocean off WA. Attention turned to the cabin cruiser when Australian Federal Police identified it had been paid for with cash just a day earlier. And at a status conference in the Supreme Court of WA on Monday, Mr Vujicic had a charge of importing a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug discontinued. “The Crown have decided they no longer wish to prosecute you,” Justice Amanda Forrester said, telling the Montenegro man he would be released. However, he went straight into immigration detention, with his lawyer Katherine Dowling saying he would apply urgently for a bridging visa. Outside court, Ms Dowling said her client had suffered almost three years in custody unnecessarily. The case against him had always been weak, she said. “It’s a shame that it’s taken so long, but thank God we’ve got here,” Ms Dowling said. “He has conducted himself with remarkable resilience and grace.” New Zealand man Tamaohungia Joseph Tepatu-Edwards, 32, admitted in February 2025 to being tasked with collecting the plastic-wrapped drugs using the smaller vessel and was on Friday sentenced to a whopping 26 years’ jail. Another man from Montenegro, the vessel’s master, Milan Begovic, 45, is among the five remaining accused. The others are Ashley William Vlotman, 41, Meagan Elizabeth Rees, 34, Terrence William Baker, 28 and Lithuanian national Germanas Joneliunas, 24, who arrived in Australia a week before the bust, was arrested in Sydney and extradited to WA. All five maintained their not guilty pleas to the same serious Commonwealth charge. The West does not suggest that the allegations against them are true, only that the charges have been laid. They will face a status conference on April 10 ahead of a four-month trial provisionally listed to start in late July. However, Justice Forrester expressed significant concerns about the Crown’s preparedness. “It has all the hallmarks of a trial that is not going to be ready,” she said. “I have very real concerns about where this is going.” Various defence counsel indicated they were as prepared as they could be. “It has to proceed on that date ... I will be ready,” Michael Tudori, counsel representing Mr Vlotman, told the judge. Mr Vlotman, Mr Begovic and Mr Joneliunas were remanded in custody, while Ms Rees and Mr Baker are out on bail. Tepatu-Edwards was made eligible for parole after serving 17 years and likely faces deportation once freed. Months after the bust, as police detailed a nationwide crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs, they alleged that some members of the group were part of a criminal syndicate with suspected links to the Hells Angels. Navy clearance divers were used to retrieve 29 packages from the bulk carrier. Sold as four million individual deals, the drugs would fetch about $320 million, federal police estimate.