Video: Australian Authorities Arrest Fugitive Drug Suspect Fleeing On Yacht

A fugitive accused of importing drugs under Operation Ironside has been arrested while he was trying to flee Australia on a yacht off the Northern Territory coast.

Hussein Chamas, aged 35, was detained by Australian authorities on January 26, 2025, after he was found on a vessel sailing north in the Arafura Sea.

Chamas had been wanted since January 8, 2025, when he disappeared from a rehabilitation facility in Swan Bay, New South Wales. He was required to stay there for his bail after being charged in July 2023 with conspiracy to import methamphetamine, drug trafficking, and illegally possessing a firearm.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege that he was part of a transnational syndicate that used the ANOM platform to coordinate drug imports into Australia.

After Chamas failed to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on January 20, 2025, a warrant was issued for his arrest. The AFP, along with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and Northern Territory Police, tracked him down after a sighting at East Woody Beach, Nhulunbuy, NT, on January 25.

Authorities reported that he was seen flashing a torch towards a nearby yacht, and …

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