A 46-year-old man has been charged for allegedly transporting an escaped fugitive from New South Wales to the Northern Territory in a camper van last month. The man was apprehended in Nhulunbuy, a small town in Arnhem Land, on February 2. According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), he journeyed to Sydney to retrieve the fugitive, who had allegedly fled from a rehabilitation facility in Swan Bay, north of Newcastle.
The pair purportedly covered a distance of approximately 4,600 kilometres, travelling through Queensland before heading to the Northern Territory via Central Arnhem Road. The fugitive had initially been arrested by Border Force officials on January 26 while attempting to leave on a boat from Nhulunbuy.
Allegations suggest that the fugitive has connections to a drug-importing syndicate. The man who facilitated the fugitive’s escape has been charged with a single count of providing support for people smuggling and is expected to appear before Darwin Local Court today.