The pilot who crashed a small aircraft on a suspected drug run near Papua New Guinea's capital is likely to face more charges
The crashed Cessna Photo: Deni ToKunai via Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary
David John Cutmore's Cessna crashed on take-off at an old airstrip, allegedly carrying over 500 kilogrammes of cocaine bound for Australia.
PNG police later seized the cocaine, but not before Cutmore and the drugs went missing for days.
The Australian pilot has already pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal entry under the Migration Act.
That he was only fined 840 US dollars surprised some Papua New Guineans.
But Police Commissioner David Manning said investigators were looking at laying additional charges under the National Pandemic Act.
Meanwhile, back in Australia, five men arrested by Federal Police had been charged for conspiring to import the cocaine and faced maximum sentences of life imprisonment.