Man to face drug charges after ten years on the run
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
A man will be extradited from Western Australia to Queensland to face cocaine smuggling charges after allegedly failing to turn up in court 10 years ago.
The 40-year-old Brazilian national was arrested and charged in 2012 for his alleged involvement in a syndicate using couriers to smuggle cocaine from Brazil and New Zealand into Australia.
He was one of nine people arrested on the Gold Coast and in New Zealand after a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Queensland Police.
About 17 kilograms of cocaine was seized during the investigation, and police allege $615,000 cash was found in the man’s home or in vehicles linked to him.
The man failed to appear in court at Southport and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Earlier this month, police in Western Australia stopped the man over a traffic matter and did an identity check, which they said showed he was in the country illegally and had the outstanding Queensland arrest warrant.
The man had been living in Western Australia, but it’s not known when he left Queensland.
He will face charges in Queensland of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and dealing in the proceeds of crime.
