A Norwegian man described as a professional diver has been sentenced to nine years and eleven months in prison, for his role in a failed attempt to retrieve 80kg of cocaine from a ship in the Australian port of Newcastle.
Jon Birger Karlsen, 49, and his co-accused, fellow-Norwegian diver Johan-Martinius Halvorsen, 35, were recruited by an international crime syndicate that flew them into Brisbane in January 2023.
Their mission was to recover the large cocaine shipment hidden inside a sea-chest attached to the hull of the 228m-long Cyprus-registered bulk-carrier Stalo, which was docked at a grain terminal.
The gang reportedly provided almost AU $60,000 (£29,000) for high-end scuba gear and underwater scooters to facilitate the retrieval, with the divers directly involved in the purchases. Karlsen’s diving expertise was stated to be central to the plan, which involved navigating under water to access the concealed drugs at a depth of 8m.
Operation Nemo
Acting on a tip-off, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had already removed the cocaine before the divers made their attempt, as part of an operation code-named Nemo.
Karlsen and Halvorsen were practising their approach using their DPVs in Newcastle harbour when they were spotted by the captain of a passing ferry. AFP officers were waiting when they reached the boat, shining lights into the water. The divers tried to escape but were subsequently arrested.
Both men pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. During sentencing at the District Court of New South Wales, Judge Roy Ellis expressed scepticism over Karlsen’s claim that he had been unaware of the criminal nature of the operation.
Judge Ellis acknowledged Karlsen’s co-operation with the police and the fact that he had faced threats while in custody, including intimidation directed at his family in Norway. These mitigating factors led to a 15% reduction in what would otherwise have been a 12-year sentence. With time already served, he will be eligible for parole from the end of 2028.
Halvorsen had been sentenced earlier this year to 12 years in prison but will be eligible for parole in October 2028.
The port of Newcastle was said at the time to have become a prime target for drugs gangs, using an “oceanic superhighway” for smuggling. The previous year James Blee, now serving an 11-year jail sentence as reported on Divernet, smuggled two Brazilian divers into Australia via Indonesia to retrieve narcotics from the hull of another bulk-carrier docked in Newcastle.
One of the divers, using a rebreather provided by Blee but on which he had not been properly trained, died during the assignment, while the other went on the run.
