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A prominent China-born businesswoman with ties to the highest levels of government in Papua New Guinea will stand trial in Australia for her alleged role in masterminding an audacious "black flight" plot to smuggle crystal methamphetamine across the Torres Strait.
Mei Lin, 43, was committed on March 20 to stand trial in the Queensland Supreme Court following a four-day hearing at the Brisbane Magistrates Court. Australian prosecutors allege that Ms. Lin orchestrated the storage and transportation of more than 71 kilograms (about 156 pounds) of the drug, which was flown from a remote, mountainous airstrip in Papua New Guinea to Australia's far north in a twin-engine propeller plane in 2023.
Her arrest in Brisbane in early 2024 sent shockwaves through Papua New Guinea, where she had cultivated a sprawling corporate empire from her base in the port city of Lae. A 2024 investigation by OCCRP and Inside PNG revealed that her connections included the country's former deputy prime minister, and that companies linked to her had even benefited from Australian government aid intended to support local development.
The looming trial marks a significant step for law enforcement as they grapple with a surge of illicit narcotics trafficking through the Pacific Islands. Transnational criminal syndicates are increasingly utilizing the region as a staging ground, drawn by the highly lucrative drug markets in Australia and New Zealand.
Papua New Guinea—with its vast, rugged geography, developmental challenges, and pervasive corruption—has become an attractive waypoint. Traffickers frequently exploit the porous border to move drugs into Australia's remote, tropical north before distributing them southward to major population centers like Sydney and Melbourne.
The advancement of Lin’s case follows the reported convictions of at least four Australians, including the crew of the illicit flight.
Meanwhile, the fallout continues in Papua New Guinea, where authorities have independently alleged that Lin was a central figure in the smuggling syndicate. Eight people—including a local police officer and a soldier—have been charged in the country and are currently awaiting trial.
