That was the plan. Loading But a huge wave ruined everything by capsizing Wong’s rubber dinghy on the way into Boggaley Creek on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. It plunged him, his friend and six bags of heroin into the ocean. Wong’s compatriot smashed his head on rocks and drowned. Somehow though, Wong made it ashore alive and recovered five of the six bags, giving them to a shocked Lam. The motor on Wong’s dinghy was broken beyond repair and he had no way of getting back to the Pong Su. He found the strength to bury his friend in a makeshift grave of kelp and rock.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Then Wong looked for shelter. He had no passport or identity documents on him. All he had, was $1000 in US currency, a Nokia mobile, cigarettes, some water, a bottle of alcohol, binoculars and a GPS device. Over the next 40 hours, Wong remained hidden in two hiding spots he had created high above Boggaley Creek, which is in-between the coastal towns of Lorne and Wye River. From his vantage points, he watched the Pong Su wait forlornly for him to return and he saw police swarm the beach below after daybreak. Wong’s physical condition was poor and getting worse with each passing hour. He was wet, cold, hungry, and in a state of shock at the ordeal he had just been through. But April 16, the day after the Pong Su’s heroin importation, came and went. And Wong spent another night hiding in the Otway bush.

The story of Wong’s discovery late in the afternoon of April 17, 2003 features in episode four of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s podcast series, The Last Voyage of the Pong Su. He was found by Tim James, who was at that time a sergeant leading a Victoria Police search and rescue unit. His unit had been called in to help the Victorian homicide squad who had taken control of the Boggaley Creek scene after Australian Federal Police discovered Wong’s dead partner. A member of Sergeant James' team had earlier in the day found what looked like to be a hideout in the hill above Boggaley Creek. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

“She reported back that afternoon that she’d come across what looked to be some form of a base. There was padded-down grass, there was a bottle of half-consumed water, there was some gloves and it just looked like someone had been sitting up there,” he said. Later in the day, Sergeant James thought he would go take a look for himself. A former sniper in Victoria’s Special Operations Group, his training kicked in. “I started off walking and then a low crawl, then I was on my hands and knees, and then I picked up a really strong scent of body odour which is not uncommon. And I was able to, I just homed in on the body odour. Now I'm in a low leopard crawl, and I'm working very quietly, and I think I'm getting really close to something. I don't know what it is, but I'm getting close. “And as I peered through the undergrowth, I could see colour, which I took to be a person laying doggo in the undergrowth.” Sergeant James was not carrying a gun. So he made his way back to the clifftop and signalled to colleagues to bring a weapon up.

Gun in hand, he crawled back in and arrested an exhausted Wong. He was in no state to offer any resistance. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Police filmed Wong once they had him in custody. The footage makes clear just how poor Wong’s condition was. He is struggling to stand up straight. He looks shocked and frightened. Federal police detective Celeste Johnston said Wong was grateful for a sandwich. Her boss on the Pong Su case, Des Appleby, said Wong told police he was Chinese. But the Chinese interpreter police brought in didn’t think so.