‘Postcard Bandit’ Brenden Abbott granted parole

NOTORIOUS Queensland criminal Brenden James Abbott, also known as the Postcard Bandit, has reportedly been granted parole. REPORT | The crim who embarrassed Queensland

NOTORIOUS Queensland criminal Brenden James Abbott, also known as the Postcard Bandit, has reportedly been granted parole.

It is understood Australia’s most notorious escapee had been granted parole from his 23-year sentence for bank robbery and his last escape, having served 18 years.

POSTCARD BANDIT: The crim who embarrassed Queensland

Abbott’s celebrations will be muted and his freedom short lived - when he is paroled he is expected to walk straight into the arms of police over past crimes.

It is not known what date Abbott has been granted parole from, but a police source told The Courier-Mail he would likely be taken to the Brisbane Watchhouse after that day.

From there, an interstate search warrant would be executed and detectives from WA would fly to Queensland for a court hearing.

Brenden Abbott and the images of him on the run with friends which gave birth to the Postcard Bandit legend.

Queensland detectives are set to re-arrest Abbott immediately on his release on parole, on Western Australian arrest warrants that relate to offences in the 1980s.

There would then be a court application to extradite him to WA to be dealt with there.

Western Australia Police confirmed the Queensland Parole Board approved Abbott’s application, but a release date is yet to be finalised.

In a statement, WA Police said “appropriate action” would be taken.

“It is on the public record that Brenden Abbott has outstanding criminal matters in WA, and that he is currently imprisoned in Queensland over other matters,” the statement reads.

“The Queensland Parole Board approved his application for parole on Wednesday 9 March 2016 but a release date has yet to be finalised.

BACKGROUND: The criminal mastermind and escape artist

“WA Police will take appropriate action, in consultation with other departments, both in WA and interstate, once the release date has been confirmed.”

South Australian Police also released a statement saying it was “aware of the proposed granting of parole to Brenden Abbott”.

“Police are currently reviewing files in consultation with other jurisdictions to determine if and when any further charges will proceed,” the statement said.

Abbott is still at the Woodford Correctional Centre this afternoon, according to Corrective Services.

Abbott the inmate. After his escape he became the most wanted man in Australia.

In his parole application, Abbott said he believed his crimes would have a lasting impact on his victims.

“I believe that they will relive this incident for many years to come,” he wrote.

“Without hesitation, and with sincerity, my greatest regret is that I left traumatised victims in my wake.”

Mr Abbott wishes to reside with his sister Dianne in Cairns, according to the application, but it is likely he will be extradited to Western Australia first to finish serving a 12-year sentence.

“I have wasted much of my life due to my past criminal behaviour and beliefs which have seen me spend the best part of my life in institutions,” he said.

“It’s never too late to change and that’s exactly what I have done.

“I am not, by any means, a risk to the community.”

Brenden Abbott in 1975. His family spent time on the road.

On Friday, the Queensland Parole Board was ordered to make a preliminary decision on whether to release Abbott in just five days.

Abbott had launched Supreme Court action to force the Queensland Parole Board to let him out of maximum-security Woodford Correctional Centre northwest of Brisbane.

The prisoner, who staged dramatic escapes from Queensland and West Australian jails in the 1980s and ’90s – reportedly taunting police by sending them postcards while on the run – is serving a 23-year sentence for bank robbery and his last escape.

He has so far spent 18 years in jail here, about a decade of it in solitary confinement – longer than any other Australian prisoner.

He has been subject to constant surveillance and his movements logged every 15 minutes, his cell searched daily and the bars checked twice a day. He has been moved between cells more than 200 times. When he is among others, nearby inmates are regularly moved to prevent him forming friendships.

He was not due for release until 2020 but was eligible for parole in September 2011.

It is understood the Parole Board decided in April 2015 to grant him parole but only if he was extradited to WA where he escaped from Fremantle Prison in 1989. But WA authorities are believed to have refused.

Abbott escaped from custody three times and spent more than six years on the run. He was Australia’s most wanted man during his longest fugitive stint, between 1989 and 1995.

He was finally nabbed at a Darwin laundromat in 1998.

Corrective Services Minister Bill Byrne’s spokeswoman said she could not discuss individual prisoners or parole board decisions.

“The parole board acts independently of us,” she said.

The Corrective Services department would not comment.

Read more about the notorious fugitive who became a part of Australia’s crime folklore.