Rohan Arnold has returned to Australia after he was extradited from Serbia over his alleged role in importing 1.28 tonnes of cocaine into Sydney in 2017.
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The drug haul, which had an estimated street value of half a billion dollars, resulted in the second largest cocaine seizure in Australian history.
Mr Arnold, 43, a stockyard director and steel importer from Murrumbateman, was one of three men targeted in a Belgrade hotel on January 18, in a dramatic gunpoint arrest by Serbian police, scenes of which were captured on video.
Dubbed by Serbian media outlets as the “Australian king of steel”, Mr Arnold has been charged with a number of offences, including importing and conspiring to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs and conspiring to possess a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs.
The cocaine shipment was intercepted and seized by Australian Border Force officers in April 2017 on a Chinese container ship, on which 2576 individual blocks of the drug were found concealed in prefabricated hollow steel.
It prompted the formation of Operation Amorgos, led by the Australian Federal Police.
Mr Arnold, along with his co-accused Tristan Waters and David Campbell, were arrested by Serbian authorities at a Belgrade hotel on January 16 as they were allegedly handing over a bag containing a gun and $1 million in cash.
Both Mr Waters and Mr Campbell remain behind bars in Belgrade.
On Wednesday, March 20, federal police Detective Superintendent Stephen Dametto, co-ordinator of organised crime and cyber, said the sheer volume of the importation suggested those involved were "high up in the supply chain in regards to drug trafficking".
"Through our domestic partnerships and international liaison networks we were able to build a picture of what we believe is an international crime syndicate responsible for this importation," he said.
"A 1.28-tonne shipment can only be financed and facilitated by a significant, well-organised crime group. We believe it has links not only in Australia, but around the world."
Mr Arnold did not appear at Central Local Court on Wednesday, where bail was not applied for, but was formally refused.
He will appear for a bail application on March 29 via audio-visual link.
The federal police allege he used overseas business links "as consignor and consignee" to facilitate the importation of cocaine.
Tony McSweeney, ABF Superintendent of Maritime and Detained Goods NSW, said the seizure was proof that the "well-oiled machine" of law enforcement was equipped to deal with "highly-organised drug smuggling syndicates".
Mr Arnold is a prominent steel businessman whose companies, along with his business partner, Mr Campbell, supplied steel to a number of government projects in the ACT and NSW.
Mr Arnold also has interests in a number of regional projects, including the South Eastern Livestock Exchange in Yass and the Mortlake Saleyards.
Mr Waters, a former Canberra nightclub boss and builder who had relocated to Dubai in recent years, was indirectly linked to the Australian Taxation Office fraud sting.
