DANIEL Terence Percy - a Western Australian man accused of providing "offshore co-ordination" for a drug syndicate that sailed a catamaran packed with 700 kilograms of cocaine into Lake Macquarie - will face a trial in Newcastle District Court.
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Mr Percy, 36, is alleged to have flown to Tahiti in October, 2017, to meet the original, Slovenian crew of the Skarabej - a 13-metre catamaran used in the importation - and then handed the vessel over to Newcastle sailor Craig Lembke and another man for the final leg of the voyage to Australia's east coast.
Australian Federal Police and other agencies boarded the catamaran at Toronto on November 15, 2017, and found 700 wrapped blocks of cocaine concealed inside its twin hulls.
Mr Percy, the fourth man charged over the $245 million cocaine importation, was represented by solicitor Drew Hamilton when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine.
The matter was committed for trial and adjourned to August 15 in Newcastle District Court, when Mr Percy will plead not guilty and get a trial date.
The offence of importing a commercial quantity of cocaine carries a maximum of life imprisonment.
Investigators allege that Mr Percy's role in the drug syndicate was to provide "offshore co-ordination" of the cocaine packed catamaran and ensure that it was handed off to Mr Lembke.
He is accused of flying to Hong Kong and then travelling to Thailand in July, 2017, to meet up with the Australian principle of the importation syndicate.
That man allegedly gave Mr Percy an encrypted phone so he could communicate with the rest of the syndicate about the drug plot. Three Slovenian nationals sailed the Skarabej from Ecuador to Tahiti on July 25, 2017, with the 700 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the hulls.
Percy is alleged to have flown to Tahiti on October 8, 2017, to meet with the Slovenian crew members and sign over the boat. He is then accused of meeting Mr Lembke at a marina and handing over the catamaran.
Mr Lembke, who is represented by solicitor Mark Ramsland, does not deny he was at the helm of the catamaran, but claims he did not know about the illicit cargo hidden in the hulls.
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