Lawyer told to fast track case

By CLARISSA MOI
THE lawyer representing a 52-year-old Australian charged under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 2015 was told yesterday to fast track the case.
Waigani committal court magistrate Danny Wakikura said David John Cutmore, from Northern Queensland, had been walking in and out of court, and the matter should be fast tracked.
Police prosecutor Inspector Boas Binuali told the court that the police file had already been served on Cutmore.
He added that the defence lawyer previously appealed when the matter was before magistrate Alex Kalandi that the defence would not make any submission but leave the court to decide on the police hand-up-brief.
“The matter has been adjourned several times because Cutmore has not been brought to court by the Correctional Services,” Binuali said.
Wakikura agreed that Cutmore had the right to legal representation and should be accorded.
“There has been a change of lawyers, so if there is any submission that the counsel wishes to make, that should be done on March 17.
“The defence should file and serve their submissions on the prosecutions and prosecution can make a reply on the next returnable date.”
Cutmore’s lawyer from the Office of the Public Solicitor said he would need time to gather the file and confirm instructions as the matter was previously taken care of by another lawyer from his office.
Wakikura adjourned the matter and issued a release order so that Cutmore could be released to attend his court sitting next month.
Binuali previously told The National outside court that the current charge put before Cutmore was for the money that he had brought into the country which breached the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 2015.
He said the total of AU$75,000 (about K189,000) was found in three envelopes and was allegedly money which Cutmore used to pay three nationals for transporting drugs to a site on the outskirts of Port Moresby.
It was alleged that on July 26, Cutmore illegally entered the country from Cairns, Australia, on a twin-engine aircraft and landed near Papa-Lealea in Central.
He was alleged to have flown in to pick up 611kg of cocaine and was to have returned to Australia but the plane crashed due to the weight.
Police at the scene recovered the drugs and later arrested Cutmore after he surrendered at the Australian High Commission.
He was later convicted of illegally entering the country and breaching the Civil Aviation Act of flying without a pilot’s licence and crashing the plane.
Cutmore was fined K37,000 for the previous charges, but he was unable to pay and, therefore, detained and is serving a year and eight months in Bomana Prison.