Man evades airport authorities, jumps in taxi after arriving from hotpot: cops

A man who flew into Darwin from Sydney tried to escape from authorities when he was supposed to be put into hotel quarantine.

A man who flew in from a restricted state evaded Northern Territorian authorities when he was supposed to be taken into quarantine for two weeks.

John Pracy flew into Darwin Airport from Sydney late on Monday morning and avoided the checkpoint at the airport before leaving in a taxi, NT Police claim.

The 52-year-old was set to be transported to mandatory hotel isolation at the Centre for National Resilience.

Mr Pracy, who arrived on QF840, is a Katherine resident.

NT Police incident controller Brendan Muldoon said Mr Pracy’s disregard for quarantine protocols created unnecessary risk for the broader community.

“This is very disappointing behaviour and not something we should have to devote time and resources to,“ he said.

Mr Pracy’s actions sparked a manhunt where officers called on the public to help locate him, but Mr Pracy turned himself into police less than two hours later.

He will undergo Covid-19 testing and complete 14 days of quarantine.

“There is no information to suggest Pracy has Covid-19, but he is subject to quarantine due to him coming from a declared hotspot,” NT Police said in a statement.

Originally published as Man evades airport authorities, jumps in taxi after arriving from hotpot: cops