A Bungendore businessman accused of importing $144 million worth of cocaine inside an excavator is set to plead guilty, his lawyer has told a court.
Authorities have previously said that Australian Border Force officers, who had been tipped off by police, intercepted the second-hand digger when it arrived in Sydney from South Africa last year.
With the help of police, they spent two days cutting open the hydraulic arm and removing 384 blocks of cocaine, each weighing about one kilogram, and substituting the drugs for an inert substance.
Despite the seizure taking place in NSW, it was coordinated by ACT Policing in the largest drug interception operation the force has ever overseen.
Once complete, police sent the 20-tonne machine on to what is alleged to have been its intended destination, Bungendore Landscape Supplies, in a controlled delivery.
After a period of evidence gathering, heavily armed officers stormed the business on July 14 last year.
Two men, Timothy John Engstrom and Bungendore Landscape Supplies managing director Adam Phillip Hunter, were subsequently arrested.
The pair, who both ordinarily live in Queanbeyan, now face charges of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and attempting to possess a border controlled drug.
Queanbeyan Local Court heard just last month that the men were likely to face a marathon joint trial over the allegations.
But the case took an unexpected twist on Tuesday morning, when solicitor Michael Kukulies-Smith appeared on Mr Hunter's behalf.
"It is very likely my client will be pleading guilty," Mr Kukulies-Smith told the court.
The lawyer said he had repeatedly tried to visit Mr Hunter, who is in custody on remand in Goulburn, to discuss the matter and confirm this course of action.
However, three scheduled visits had so far been cancelled as a result of lockdowns at the jail.
Mr Kukulies-Smith asked Magistrate Roger Clisdell for an adjournment, saying another four weeks would in all likelihood result in Mr Hunter being committed for sentence on the next occasion.
Mr Engstrom's matter was also mentioned briefly in court on Tuesday morning, but he is on bail and was not required to attend.
Lawyer Robert Candelori, appearing on his behalf, successfully applied for a change to the hours of Mr Engstrom's curfew.
There was no further discussion on Tuesday about how Mr Engstrom's matter would proceed.
However, Mr Candelori told the court last month he was eager for Mr Engstrom to be committed for trial and indicated he would fight the charges.
Both accused are next expected in court on October 6.
