Stephen Dank to be arrested and extradited to the Northern Territory
Stephen Dank could soon be cooling his heels in a notorious Darwin prison, with NT Police set to arrest and extradite the disgraced sports scientist.
Police & Courts
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Disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank is set to be arrested and extradited to the Northern Territory more that two years after he was first hit with criminal charges.
Northern Territory fraud detectives charged Dank in late 2019 after a long-running probe into his time working as a FIFO “peptide therapist” at an anti-ageing medical clinic in Darwin.
Dank has never appeared in court in person, and a Northern Territory judge issued a warrant for his arrest in October 2020.
A Northern Territory Police spokeswoman said extraditing Dank became “a viable course of action” when travel restrictions to the Northern Territory recently eased.
Police sources said Dank’s bail was likely to be opposed once he is extradited — a move which could see him remanded in custody at Darwin’s notorious Holtze prison.
Dank is facing charges of unlawfully causing serious harm, obtaining benefit by deception, forgery and uttering a forged document.
The forgery and forged document charges relate to allegations surrounding Dank’s use of a medical prescription book, while the serious harm charge stem from major medical complications suffered by a man Dank allegedly treated.
The courts have heard investigators compiled a “huge brief of evidence” against Dank, who plans to fight the charges.
An officer with a close understanding of the case said the investigation became “complicated” and “delicate” when it was discovered that senior Northern Territory police officers had been regular clients at the clinic where Dank was based.
Dank’s case has also been the subject of bureaucratic infighting between police and prosecutors, amid an exodus of experienced fraud investigators and prosecutors from NT Police and the office of the Northern Territory DPP.
When investigators last pushed for Dank’s extradition, they were told the office of the Northern Territory DPP lacked the resources to manage Dank’s prosecution.
In a statement, Northern Territory DPP Lloyd Babb SC said his office would “continue to liaise with police in relation to this matter”.
The colourful doctor whose clinic Dank worked at, Dr Satbir Aulakh, is set to be a key prosecution witness.
Dr Aulakh, who is an aspiring Bollywood performer, earlier this month agreed to strict undertakings with medical regulators, including that he not prescribe injectable anabolic steroids and to not use handwritten prescription pads.
Dr Aulakh’s office said this week said he was “flat out” performing cosmetic injections and was unable respond to questions about the case.
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