Vic: Cocaine conspirator held after court appearance

AAP General News (Australia)
12-20-1999
Vic: Cocaine conspirator held after court appearance

A man who allegedly passed messages to criminal lawyer ANDREW FRASER during a $5 million
drug trafficking operation has today been refused bail in a Melbourne Court.

CARL HEINZE URBANEC, 45, of Greig Court, Elwood, is the fifth person, including FRASER,
to be charged in connection with cocaine importation.

Australian Federal Police officer PATRICK MILES says that URBANEC was a life-long friend
of one of the alleged principal offenders WERNER ROBERTS.

Mr MILES says URBANEC knew that ROBERTS and his wife ANDREA MOHR left Australia on
August 17 to allegedly travel to the Benin republic in West Africa to bring back cocaine.

Melbourne Magistrates Court's been told his role was to assist ROBERTS and pass messages
from MOHR to FRASER about the importation.

DAVID O'DOHERTY, defending, says the crown case against URBANEC is weak and there's
no evidence that identified him as being a party to a plan or arrangement to import cocaine.

URBANEC is charged with being knowingly concerned with the importation of a commercial
quantity of cocaine.

He's been refused bail and remanded in custody to reappear on January 18.

AAP RTV cmc/mh/as/jn

KEYWORD: URBANEC (MELBOURNE)

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