When the message came through on an encrypted phone about sailing more than 500 kilograms of cocaine on a yacht from Tahiti to NSW, one of the drug shipment organisers believed he had the man for the job, musician Craig Lembke, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The organiser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told a Newcastle District Court jury on Wednesday Lembke was the only man he knew with the necessary sailing experience.
He claimed the way encrypted phones worked meant that after reading the message, which came from the 'Black Prince' in Hong Kong, it disappeared.
Lembke, 49, of Mayfield East, and his co-accused Daniel Percy, 36, of Western Australia, have pleaded not guilty to importing a commercial quantity of cocaine.
Lembke claims he did not know the cocaine was hidden in the twin hulls of the 13-metre catamaran called Scarabej.
Percy is accused of organising the catamaran for the drug shipment but denies knowing the cocaine was on board.
The jury has been told the organiser, who pleaded guilty over the drug importation and was jailed, claimed to have met Lembke in September 2017, when the musician agreed to sail the drugs from Tahiti for $500,000.
The pure quantity of cocaine in the 700kg of white powder seized by police was 547.71kgs.
Another witness, Ingrid Webster, 73, who had been involved in a relationship with Lembke for several years in the early 1990s after leaving her husband, told the court on Wednesday she believed it was "totally improbable" he had known about the cocaine.
Ms Webster said Lembke, a saxophone player, had a passion for music and sailing and was not at all materialistic.
She described Lembke as a "wonderful human being" who was kind, unselfish, very sweet and not at all motivated by money.
Lembke set off with his friend, David Mitchell, who had started up a yacht delivery company, from Tahiti on October 17, 2017, to sail the Scarabej to NSW.
It was the first time the pair had sailed a catamaran from another country back to Australia and Mr Mitchell wanted to make sure they weren't carrying anything illegal so he swam underneath the vessel to check when they stopped at Bora Bora.
Mr Mitchell claimed there was no way to know the drugs were on board.
The pair arrived at Lake Macquarie on November 14, before mooring the Scarabej near the Toronto Royal Motor Yacht Club.
Police were monitoring the Scarabej when Lembke allegedly transferred a drug syndicate member out to the catamaran on November 15.
Lembke returned to shore while the syndicate member allegedly began using power tools to cut through the hull to access the drugs.
The trial, before Judge Jonathon Priestley, continues on Thursday.
Australian Associated Press