Fugitive Drug Trafficker Arrested While Attempting to Flee Australia by Yacht

Hussein Chamas, accused of drug importation, was captured off the Northern Territory coast after escaping a NSW rehabilitation facility.

Hussein Chamas, 35, was arrested on a yacht in the Arafura Sea while allegedly trying to flee to Indonesia after escaping a NSW rehabilitation center on January 8.
Chamas had been on bail since July 2023 and was awaiting trial for serious drug importation charges linked to a transnational syndicate using the AN0M platform.
Authorities were alerted to his escape a week after he fled, and he was apprehended following a tip-off about suspicious activity on an East Arnhem Land beach.
The Australian Federal Police and Border Force intercepted the $200,000 yacht during a patrol targeting illegal sea cucumber poaching vessels in the area.
Two crew members of the yacht, a Dutch man and a British woman, face people smuggling charges, while Chamas is expected to be extradited to NSW.