Tag Archives: oceania

Aspiring rapper charged with murder over fatal shooting

An aspiring rapper is one of two men charged with murder after a fatal shooting in Melbourne's north last month.

The charges come after Griffin Harris, 22, was fatally shot in Kalkallo on September 21.

Mickleham man Lachlan Belmore, 24, was charged yesterday with one count of murder and trafficking methylamphetamine.

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His co-accused, Wallan man Dean Bell, 31, has also been charged with murder.

Both are accused of storming Harris' home with a rifle.

Belmore goes by the stage name Drips and is a rap artist.

It's alleged he and three other men terrorised Harris about 4am before fatally shooting him.

Police believe the shooting was a targeted attack and those involved were known to each other.

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Police executed six search warrants yesterday, seizing four cars.A 25-year-old Wallan man and a 19-year-old Craigieburn were also arrested and charged with home invasion.

A 22-year-old Keilor woman and a 22-year-old Wallan man were released pending further enquiries.

All accused will face court in February but it's understood some will apply for bail before then.

EX-NRL player Jamil Hopoate's drug supply played down in court

Attempted drug supplier and former NRL player Jamil Hopoate was merely a courier picking up eight one-kilogram slabs and possibly knew little about his taking part in a cocaine ring, a court has been told.

Hopoate, 27, is being sentenced in the Sydney District Court for the attempted supply of a large commercial quantity of cocaine.

The son of former Manly winger John Hopoate and brother of former Canterbury star Will was arrested in 2021 after federal police found 514kg of cocaine hidden in a consignment of toolboxes.

READ MORE: Jamil Hopoate pleads guilty to cocaine supply

Jamil Hopoate outside court in May this year.

The cocaine, with an estimated street value of $155 million, was replaced with an innocuous powder and then tracked as it was distributed across Sydney, leading police to a van Hopoate was travelling in.

Greg James KC played down his client's role, saying the prosecution case didn't show Hopoate knew or wanted to have cocaine in his possession.

"All he's doing is picking up that which he's instructed to pick up and transmitting it to or at the direction whoever had obtained it," James said.

Hopoate was paid $7000 to move the slabs but had no profit stake in the cocaine supply, the court was told.

Jamil Hopoate

He was initially charged with large commercial drug supply and held on remand for two months. But that was withdrawn after it was clear he hadn't possessed cocaine at any time.

Hopoate pleaded guilty in the local court to the lesser offence of attempted supply in May, entitling him to a 25-per-cent sentence discount.

"In the circumstances, it's accepted he at least had the minimum state of knowledge necessary to constitute such essential awareness that the slabs had or were likely to contain cocaine or another illicit drug," James said.

Hopoate during a Brisbane Broncos NRL training session in 2020.

The Crown expressed concern that Hopoate's addictions to gambling, alcohol and other drugs would recur once he was released from jail.

Since July 2021, he's been unable to touch alcohol or other drugs or gamble due to his strict bail conditions.

"What will be staring him in the face is when Mr Hopoate comes out of jail and is not subject to strict bail conditions, will be him having those skills to (ensure he doesn't) relapse back into his very significant, long-term addiction to alcohol," the prosecutor said.

The sentencing continues.

'Curious' great white shark tails kayaker off murky Aussie beach

An ocean lover who took to South Australian waters over the weekend unwittingly spent more than 10 minutes with one of the ocean's apex predators – a "curious" great white shark.

Andy Burnell, an avid photographer who works with the Department for Environment and Water, took to his kayak on Sunday to test out how to film "fly-overs" in the murky waters off Grange Beach.

It was only when he downloaded the footage from his old GoPro at home he realised he wasn't alone.

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Writing on his Facebook page, crab.e.cam, Andy Burnell said the shark had a 'cute little smile'. The small shark has what looks like a bite mark on her side.

"I had no idea, I was in absolute amazement," Burnell told 9news.com.au.

"I was expecting nothing, and I was like, 'Oh, that is a shark.'

"It swam right across the frame.

"She was obviously really curious and wanted to see what the thing bouncing in the water was. There was no bait.

"She came back multiple times over the course of 10 minutes."

Burnell believes his fishy friend was a female juvenile white shark.

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The small shark has what looks like a bite mark on her side.The tip of her right fin also appear to be missing.

Close-ups captured by his camera shows she may have run into other sharks in the past.

"On the left-hand side there's a semi-circle row of what looks like teeth marks, and on her right fin there's bit taken off," Burnell said.

"Someone suggested they're mating scars but I'm not sure as she is so small."

Burnell has sent the shark footage off in hopes of having the animal identified.

If it's proved she's an unknown visitor to our waters, he wants to name her "Amber" after Amber Bourke, an Australian free diver.

"She was just competing in Turkey and she got a silver medal in the free fins category, and dove 65 metres deep.

"So I thought free fin, no fin.

"She was a very distinctive shark".

Police investigating 'deliberately lit' fire that killed man

Homicide detectives in Western Australia are investigating what they say was a "deliberately lit" fire that killed a 23-year-old man.

Jack Aubrey Kinneen approached a fire near a bush track while four-wheel-driving with friends in the early hours of September 22 in Pinjar, in Perth's north.

An explosion occurred as he approached the blaze, and despite the efforts of ambulance crews, Kinneen died at the scene.

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Jack Aubrey Kinneen

Police said on Tuesday the fire appears to have been deliberately lit, and that its "structural components" caused the explosion that killed Kinneen.

Detectives from the state's homicide squad are now seeking more information about the blaze, including wanting to talk to two people who were seen near the incident.

"Detectives would like to speak to two people who were seen in the area at the time," police said in a statement.

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"The first person is a male, about 40 years old with balding hair.

"The second person is a female who was driving a silver or bronze Holden Commodore sedan – believed to be an early 2000s model."

Anyone with information about the fire or footage of the incident has been asked to contact police.