National

Accused drug lord Mostafa Baluch captured

By AAP Newswire

Nov 10, 2021

A man sits on the side of a road beside a shipping container. — Police have captured Mostafa Baluch who has been the subject of a manhunt after breaching bail.

Accused Sydney drug lord and fugitive Mostafa Baluch has been re-captured after more than two weeks on the run.

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The 33-year-old was found in the early hours of Wednesday, hiding in a car on a truck travelling from NSW to Queensland.

Acting on a tip-off, Queensland Police stopped the truck as it crossed the border into the state at about 1am.

Officers searched inside aÂ container on the back of the truck and found Baluch hiding inside a grey Mercedes.

He was arrested and taken to Southport Watch House, where a warrant was executed for breaching bail.

NSW Police Organised Crime Squad detectives are travelling to Queensland to seek his extradition when he appears at Southport Magistrates Court later on Wednesday.

Baluch was last seen in Bayview on Sydney's northern beaches on October 25, just days after he was granted bail and released from custody under strict conditions.

He had been charged with a string of drug offences related to a 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia that had a street value of $270 million.

The search for Baluch involved Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Border Force, the NSW Crime Commission and interstate police.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press