Two Vanuatu caretaker ministers have pleaded not guilty in the magistrate court to charges relating to the Phocea superyacht, which was detained in Port Vila in July on suspicion of passport fraud and drugs trading.
The caretaker foreign minister, Alfred Carlot, and the caretaker education minister, Marcelino Pepite, pleaded not guilty on the charge of boarding the yacht before the official clearance by the customs, immigration and quarantine.
Mr Carlot's private secretary, Matai Kalwatman, has also pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
The court will sit again on November the 14th to fix the date of pre trial conference for the two ministers and Mr Kalwatman.
The two ministers are listed to contest the general election in a week.
The skipper, Richard Malaise, has pleaded guilty to four charges on violating Vanuatu Maritime Laws.
A Tongan man and a Samoan man have also pleaded guilty on a charge of illegally boarding the Phocea.
