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Italian Freed in PNG Cocaine Case as Court Overturns Sentence

 An Italian yacht owner, Carlos D’Attanasio, walked free from prison yesterday after Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court scrapped his 19-year jail term for money laundering linked to a massive 2020 cocaine haul.

Italian Freed in PNG Cocaine Case as Court Overturns Sentence

Handing down the ruling, Justice David Cannings, alongside Justices Teresa Berrigan and Peter Toliken, declared the original conviction “unsafe” and ordered D’Attanasio’s immediate release. The Pesca, Italy, native had been locked up since September 24, 2024, when National Court Judge Panuel Mogish sentenced him on two money laundering charges.

The case, tied to PNG’s biggest-ever drug bust, fell apart after D’Attanasio’s lawyer, David Dotoana, appealed. The court found the prosecution’s evidence—mostly circumstantial and lacking witness statements—too weak to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. “The dots didn’t connect to a guilty verdict,” Cannings said, though he noted the trial judge made no legal errors.

D’Attanasio’s freedom highlights the hurdles PNG faces in nailing down complex financial crimes tied to drug trafficking.

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