An Irish national, Stephen Roche, will be sentenced on December 1 after pleading guilty in the NT Supreme Court to attempting to pervert the course of justice for helping a fugitive drug trafficker try to leave Australia, ABC News reported on Thursday.

Prosecutor Hadi Mazloum told the court Roche drove Hussein Chamas 4,680 kilometres from Sydney to the Northern Territory in a rental campervan, which broke down and was towed into Nhulunbuy. Chamas was later apprehended in the Arafura Sea while apparently heading for a yacht. Mazloum argued that imprisonment was the only appropriate penalty, though he accepted the offence arose from financial need rather than greed.

Defence lawyer Ian Rowbottam said Roche, who has served 123 days on remand, had shown remorse through an early plea and should not face further custody. The court heard he suffers a serious back injury and worsening mental health. Justice Meredith Day Huntingford said she would consider the submissions in the complex case before sentencing.