Truck link to case of missing Brazilian drug diver
A second Brazilian diver involved in a plot to ship millions of dollars of cocaine into Australia is still missing and now believed dead two years after the fatal smuggling attempt.
NSW Police on Friday released images of two vehicles that they believe could be linked to the disappearance of Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva, 32, one of two Brazilian divers involved in the May 2022 scheme.
The body of the other man, 31-year-old Bruno Borges Martins, was found floating in Newcastle Harbour while wearing specialist diving gear with 54kg of cocaine found nearby.
The two Brazilians were smuggled into Australia from Indonesia to retrieve cocaine from a bulk carrier docked at the Port of Newcastle.
Detectives believe Martins was working with Da Silva to recover the drugs when he died.
His older accomplice was initially thought to have escaped with millions of dollars in cocaine, but two years after Martins' death and Da Silva's disappearance police now think the missing man is unlikely to be alive.
Organised Crime Squad commander Peter Faux said investigators wanted to bring closure to Da Silva's family, who had to live with not knowing what happened to him.
"We believe that there are people out there who have information that can provide closure for the family two years after he disappeared," he said.
"I urge anyone who has information to speak to us so that Mr Da Silva's loved ones don't have to spend another year wondering what happened to him."
Police are looking for information about two vehicles seen travelling together in Sydney's northwest on the night before Martins' body was found.
A white Mitsubishi Fuso truck, which detectives believe could be connected to Da Silva's disappearance, was last spotted on the M4 motorway at Pennant Hills on May 8, 2022.
It was travelling with a Toyota Townace van that police are also trying to track down.
Two Australian men have been charged over the cocaine plot and remain before the courts.
One of the duo has admitted to people smuggling, but no one has been charged with causing the death of either diver.
