Fugitive arrested on yacht allegedly trying to flee the country
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A fugitive who escaped from a rehabilitation clinic in NSW has been arrested on a yacht while allegedly trying to flee the country off the Northern Territory Coast.
Hussein Chamas, 35, was first put into the drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility after he was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with drug offences and breaching a firearms prohibition order in July 2023.
Chamas escaped from the rehabilitation facility in Swan Bay on January 8, 2025, and the AFP were alerted of his escape on January 15.
A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on January 20.
On Saturday night, a member of the public alerted Australian Border Force (ABF) officers that a man was seen flashing a torch to a yacht at East Woody Beach in Nhulunbuy, NT.
The yacht’s crew were also seen flashing a torch back to the man, who fit the description of Chamas.
ABF and Australian Federal Police officers had been conducting covert surveillance on the vessel.
Northern Territory Police visited the beach shortly after the report was made, but they were unable to find the man or the boat.
On Sunday, ABF and AFP officers intercepted the yacht as it was sailing north in the Arafura Sea, and found Chamas onboard.
He was joined by two crew members of the yacht – a 51-year-old Dutch man and a 42-year-old woman from the UK.
Chamas was taken into police custody under the NSW arrest warrant and will appear in Darwin Local Court today, where an application for extradition will be made.
“At this stage, we will be alleging he was trying to flee Australia on the purpose of trying to evade the justice system,” AFP Commander Paula Hudson said.
Both crew members are expected to be charged with people smuggling offences, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Hudson said detectives were still trying to establish the link between Chamas and the yacht’s crew.
AFP officers alleged in July 2023 that Chamas was a member of a drug syndicate that used the platform Anon to import drugs into the country.