Runaway prisoner Darko Desic wins deportation battle
Darko Desic, who escaped Grafton Jail and lived in secret on Sydney’s Northern Beaches for three decades before handing himself in to police, has won his battle to stay in Australia.
NSW
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A prison escapee who lived in secret on Sydney’s Northern Beaches for 29 years before being detained will be allowed to stay in Australia.
Darko “Dougie” Desic was released from Villawood Detention Centre on Monday afternoon.
His lawyer Paul McGirr said Mr Desic was given a visa and a Medicare card after winning a legal battle against his deportation.
“Common sense has prevailed,” Mr McGirr said.
“It’s given me renewed confidence in the Australia I know and the Australia I grew up in.”
Mr Desic escaped from Grafton jail in 1992 after being convicted of cannabis cultivation two years earlier.
He had been living in Avalon without issue but turned himself into police in 2022.
Mr Desic served the final 19 months from his original 44-month sentence and an extra two months for breaking out.
He originally broke out of jail to avoid being deported to Yugoslavia, which had plunged into civil war.
The Federal Government again put Mr Desic in detention but then released him on Monday after backing down on a legal battle to deport him.
“He’s in shock,” Mr McGirr said. “He has accommodation and he hopes now to be able to get on with his life.”
Mr Desic declined to be interviewed.
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