Bali Nine members return to Brisbane

Queensland police say they are “in contact” with Bali Nine mule Scott Rush’s legal team after he failed to join fellow drug smugglers on flights out of Darwin to their home states.

• Bali Nine’s return: How it happened

Queensland-based Bali Nine member Scott Rush didn’t fly back home with fellow drug smugglers, as police question Rush’s legal team over outstanding arrest warrants.

The Courier-Mail understands Rush remains in the Northern Territory.

He is expected back in Queensland in the coming weeks.

Queensland police say they are “aware” Rush’s outstanding warrants and that they are “in contact” with his legal representation.

It comes as at least one other member of the group touched down on Queensland soil for the first time since their arrest in 2005, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared they had paid “a serious price” for their crimes.

Michael Czugaj boarded an overnight Qantas flight from Darwin that landed in Brisbane about 5.30am on Friday.

It was thought Rush was on the same flight, but The Courier-Mail understands Rush remains in the Northern Territory.

He is expected back in Queensland in the coming weeks.

The pair, alongside other Bali Nine members Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman and Martin Stephens, had been held at Howard Springs Detention Centre near Darwin after their arrival from Bali on Sunday.

Bali Nine member Michael Czugaj arrives in Brisbane on Friday morning. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

Czugaj was spotted boarding a flight from Darwin to Brisbane on Friday morning.

Wearing a mask, blue shirt and khaki trousers, flanked by AFP officers and refusing to speak to media, Czugaj stood at the back of the plane, quietly sipping a beer.

At 12.30pm today, Czugaj’s father was spotted driving straight through the automated gates of his Beerwah home and did not stop to speak with media.

Czugaj was heard at the airport asking where his father’s car was.

It is understood he was expected to return to his father’s home today.

Scott Rush arrives at Darwin airport after being pardoned by the Indonesian government in a deal struck between both countries. Picture: Seven News/Sunrise

Rush’s outstanding warrants relate to allegedly stealing money from the Commonwealth Bank in 2005.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said officers were in contact with Rush’s legal team.

“Queensland Police are aware of the warrants for a 39-year-old man in relation to outstanding matters and are in contact with his legal representation,” she said.

“For privacy and operational reasons it is inappropriate to provide further comment on the matter.”

Michael Czugaj, second left, and Scott Rush, third left, appear alongside Martin Stevens, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen in this photo released by the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs, Indonesian and Australian officials sign handover documents. Picture: Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs via AP

Premier David Crisafulli said the state government was not providing assistance to the two Bali Nine members who are expected to return to their families in Queensland.

He said the government viewed the repatriation of the remaining Bali Nine members as an example of “why there is no good way of importing drugs”.

“Drug importations have horrendous consequences at both ends, through both nations, and this was an incredibly sad and tragic tale,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“What I hope happens as a result of this is I do hope it reinforces the message to a new generation of younger people who might not even heard of this case that there is a zero-tolerance approach for drugs.

“If by highlighting this case and the repercussions of decisions made many years ago can prevent even one person from running that risk and destroying their lives, and potentially thousands of other lives, then there will be a glimmer of good that comes from a really tragic situation.”

Norman and Chen have arrived in Melbourne, while Stephens has returned to Sydney.

Norman, 38, is expected to move into a multimillion-dollar Torquay beachside property, The Geelong Advertiser reports.

Norman’s new home on The Esplanade is a two-storey, four-bedroom home with a current market value of more than $4 million.

Bali Nine member Michael Czugaj arrives in Brisbane on Friday morning. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

Anthony Albanese marked the return of the five drug smugglers by declaring they had “paid a serious price” for their crimes, while imploring Australians to learn from their two-decade long imprisonment and not “be stupid” when travelling overseas.

“It is time for the Bali five to have come home. They committed a serious crime. They paid a serious price… (As did) their families…They had paid a significant price for the crime that they committed,” the Prime Minister said on Friday.

“It is time for them to come home and I am pleased that has occurred.”

Si Yi Chen is seen arriving in Melbourne. Picture: The Australian/Luis Enrique Ascui

A cloak of secrecy surrounded the operation following the formal signing of a prisoner transfer deal last week, with Indonesia and Australia opting to keep the agreement quiet until hours after their arrival in Darwin on Sunday, when Anthony Albanese confirmed the five men were home.

Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen arrive in Melbourne. Photo: NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascui

The Prime Minister said the group had committed “serious offences” and insisted his government shared Indonesia’s concerns about the problem of illicit drugs, but he argued the five Australians had been imprisoned long enough and it had been “time for them to come home”.

Martin Stephens arrives in Sydney. Picture: The Australian

Under the prisoner transfer deal there was no “quid pro quo” arrangement where Australia would be returning Indonesian citizens in exchange for the Bali Nine members.

Scott Rush pictured in 2014.

A statement released on behalf of the former prisoners on Sunday night said they were “relieved and happy” to be back in Australia and thanked those who had worked to secure their return.

File photo of Michael Czugaj from 2010 in custody during his trial in Bali.

“In both Australia and Indonesia, at both a senior level and in prison visits and personal assistance, over many years, DFAT have offered professional and enduring support. The men and their families will always be grateful,” the statement said.

“They look forward, in time, to reintegrating back into and contributing to society.

“The welfare of the men is a priority, they will need time and support, and we hope and trust our media and community will make allowance for this.”

Rush was 20 and Czugaj 19 when they were arrested in April 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.7kg of heroin, worth roughly $4 million out of the Indonesian province. They had been behind bars at the infamous Kerobokan Prison since 2006 after being handed life sentences.

Rush had later appealed to have his life sentence reduced to 20 years, but when re-sentenced he was imposed with the death penalty.

In 2008, it was revealed that the death penalty had been retracted, and he would instead be serving his original life sentence.

Czugaj had his sentence reduced to 20 years, before his life sentence was reinstated.

The four other members of the Bali Nine are Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Renae Lawrence and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen.

Bali Nine members Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens, and Michael Czugaj. Picture: Supplied

Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015.

Nguyen died from stomach cancer in May 2018 in a Jakarta hospital, while serving his life sentence.

Lawrence served 13 years in prison before being released in November 2018 on good behaviour. She has since returned to Australia.