The Organised Crime Squad has issued a warrant for a 32-year-old man, understood to be in relation to a discovery of $20 million worth of cocaine at the Newcastle port on May 9.
Police have appealed for assistance to locate Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva, described as being of South American appearance, about 180cm tall, of a muscular build and unshaven, with a shaved head and brown eyes.
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Anyone who has information about his whereabouts has been urged not to approach him, but to call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
It comes as police continue to investigate the death of a diver at Newcastle port last week, found with an estimated $20 million worth of cocaine nearby.
More on this issue: CCTV images released in inquiry into $20m cocaine haul at Newcastle port
Police said the diver was discovered unconscious in the water at Berth Two, where port workers performed CPR on him prior to the arrival of emergency services, but he died at the scene. Officers later discovered 50kg of cocaine in the immediate vicinity.
The haul is believed to have a street value of $20 million but is thought to be only a portion of what arrived in the shipment.
Police have earlier posited that at least two accomplices left the diver to his fate and that the large drug importation operation was attempted by a "well-drilled, professional group".
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Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a digital journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes and produces video and multimedia for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine, and co-produces the Toohey's News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a digital journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes and produces video and multimedia for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine, and co-produces the Toohey's News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
