How alleged cocaine smuggler was sprung because of an Uber Eats order – as he’s found inside the secret compartment of his spa
- Three charged after 365kg cocaine found
- Mate Stipinovich arrested after ordering Uber Eats
- Cocaine found in upturned boat off WA
A man wanted over his alleged role in smuggling 365kg of cocaine was eventually sprung by police after ordering Uber Eats in his own name.
Mate Stipinovich, 49, had been on the run for six weeks until police found him hiding under a back patio spa when they raided a home in Byford, south of Perth, on Wednesday night.
He’d mistakenly ordered some takeaway food to the home in his own name, tipping off detectives who immediately swarmed the house.
Stipinovich, a former Rebels bikie nominee, also allegedly had a gun in a plastic bag within arm’s reach at the time of his arrest.
Mate Stipinovich (left) and his alleged co-conspirators Aristides Avlonitis, 36, (centre) and Karl Whitburn, 45, (right) have all been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug
He was the last of a trio to be caught after a six-week manhunt across at least two states on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Heavily-armed AFP officers spent an hour negotiating with Stipinovich on Wednesday evening and used angle grinders to break down roller doors surrounding the home.
One resident living nearby said police had told them to stay inside.
‘I could hear one of the officers saying ”we know you ordered Uber Eats, we know you’re in there”,’ the resident told the West Australian.
‘We heard them (the police) telling everyone (the neighbours) to stay in your lounge rooms and keep away from your windows.’
The secret compartment police hauled Stipinovich out of when they tracked him down at a house in Byford, south of Perth
Another neighbour spotted a sniper on a nearby fence that overlooked the home where Stipinovich was hiding.
Stipinovich and his alleged co-conspirators Aristides Avlonitis, 36, and Karl Whitburn, 45, were plucked from the ocean on February 1 after their boat upturned and sank.
Their cabin cruiser Aces and Eights flipped in rough seas and they only survived by using an esky for flotation about 17km offshore from Albany, Western Australia.
That seemed to be the end of it until a black plastic bag with packages of cocaine, about 40kg all up, was found floating in the water on February 7.
Stipinovich had mistakenly ordered takeaway food in his own name, tipping off detectives who swarmed the house
Eight more were found on board the seven-metre boat when it turned up a day later, overturned off Peaceful Bay, about 45km west of Denmark.
The AFP, who already found the trio’s claim of being on a fishing trip fishy, put out an alert for the men, who were not keen to speak with cops.
Avlonitis was tracked to a rural home near Darwin on February 15 and Whitburn in Perth’s north-eastern suburbs in March 9.
All three were charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, punishable by life in prison.
Stipinovich faced court in Perth on Thursday.
Police alleged the men picked up the drugs after they were left to float in the ocean by another vessel, before their boat capsized in the waves.
How the cocaine was put in the ocean and by whom is still under investigation.
Stipinovich was remanded in custody after his brief court appearance on Thursday and will face court again next month.
The trio were plucked from the sea after their boat upturned. They clung onto an esky to keep afloat. Packages of cocaine were later found in the boat
