A man has appeared in court charged with murder over the suspicious disappearance of a young Colombian national in Victoria.
Michael Jeffrey Frankland, 49 from Mt Eliza, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged over the disappearance of 28-year-old Sergio Cuesta last September.
Frankland did not apply for bail and was remanded to reappear in April.
Mr Cuesta was last seen when dropped by a friend at a Jabiru Drive address in Chelsea Heights, 30km southeast of Melbourne.
He had earlier been at a birthday dinner in the CBD, on the night of September 16.
A concerned female friend, who was also at the dinner, alerted authorities after failing to hear from him for five days.
Police arrested two men on Tuesday over his disappearance.
A 48-year-old Cranbourne man was released without charge.
But on Wednesday afternoon the missing persons squad charged Frankland with murder.
Three firearms, a pill press, various quantities of what appear to be dried cannabis and cocaine, cannabis plants, a crossbow and a conducted energy device were allegedly seized from a Mt Eliza property.
After initial inquiries by local officers, Mr Cuesta’s disappearance was deemed suspicious and the missing persons squad took over the investigation.
Prior to his disappearance, he had been living in an apartment on Queens Road and was subject to an expired student visa.
He was also on bail in relation to drug offences and was known to have contact with people suspected to be involved in trafficking.
Detectives remain keen to speak to anyone with information about his movements in the lead up to his disappearance.
