Police have charged three people with a total of 53 offences relating to an alleged assault and deprivation of liberty incident at a bush camp near Napranum on 23 January. Photo: Supplied.
One of the companies looking to establish Cape York as a leader in commercial space launches has been caught up in an incident near Napranum that resulted in three people facing court on 53 charges this week.
Officers from the Weipa Criminal Investigation branch, and Weipa and Aurukun police stations have charged the three individuals – a man and woman from Weipa and a man from Napranum – over the 23 January incident, during which it is alleged a group of five people attended a rural property on Peninsula Developmental Road near Napranum for work purposes.
Police allege three people not known to the group approached them, threatened them with weapons and made them dig a hole before they were permitted to leave what one police source described as a “bush camp”.
Cape York Weekly has confirmed from two police sources familiar with the incident that the alleged victims included representatives of Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), which is attempting to set up a launch facility on Cape York after pulling the pin on its Arnhem Land operation in December 2024.
Neither ELA nor its chief executive officer, Michael Jones, responded to inquiries from Cape York Weekly before deadline.
On 29 January, police charged the three people with a total of 53 offences.
Luke Drummond, a 35-year-old Weipa man, was charged with five counts each of going armed to cause fear, deprivation of liberty and threats, and one count each of serious assault of a person over 60 and unlawful entry of a vehicle for committing indictable offence while armed and in company.
Rocky Point woman Tamara McLean, 27, was charged with five counts each of going armed to cause fear, deprivation of liberty and threats, and one count of wilful damage.
A 64-year-old Napranum man, Darryl Mitchell, was charged with five counts each of going armed to cause fear, deprivation of liberty and threats, and one count each of serious assault person over 60, possessing dangerous drug, possession of utensil, fail to take reasonable care and precaution in respect of syringe needle, failure to appear in accordance with bail undertaking.
All three were refused bail and appeared in Weipa Magistrates Court on 30 January.
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