Deputy Commissioner of Police Special Operations Donald Yamasombi was pleased with the outcome of a Supreme Court decision in Australia on Wednesday that sentenced Benard Hamilton Alexander, 54, for smuggling 56 kilograms of methamphetamine on March 21, 2023, from Papua New Guinea to Australia.
Yamasombi said Hamilton had pleaded not guilty to the charge since his appearance in court and maintained that stance from 2023 until this year. He stated that this had led the court in Australia to summon him and another investigator to give evidence through a video link that the court provided. However, the defendant changed his plea and pleaded guilty, which led to his sentencing yesterday (Wednesday, June 11, 2025).
“With that conviction and sentencing, I want to thank all the officers involved in the investigation, those that provided intelligence information that led to the arrest of those on March 21, 2023, and our counterparts from the Australian Federal Police who assisted us, which led to the successful conviction and sentencing of the pilot. When I was asked by the court in Australia to be a state witness, I was happy and was waiting for the moment, but it turned out differently when Hamilton changed his plea from Not Guilty to Guilty, and I was not called to give evidence. I am happy for that, and I want to thank all the officers in Lae, Port Moresby, and those from other parts of the country who took part in this investigation,” Yamasombi said.
According to a police brief from the office of the Sector Response Unit (SRU) in Lae, two Asians and six Papua New Guineans were arrested on March 21, 2023, in Bulolo in relation to this case. They all appeared in court here in PNG.