Australia’s notorious ‘Postcard Bandit’ has been extradited to Western Australia
A COURT has ruled on the future of infamous bank robber and escapee Brenden James Abbott after he was released from jail.
AUSTRALIA’S notorious “Postcard Bandit” could face another 12 years in jail.
He will be extradited back to Western Australia where the serial escapee still has an outstanding prison sentence.
Abbott, a robber and prison escape artist, was granted parole from a Queensland jail in March after serving about 18 years of a 23-year prison sentence.
But he was far from free, and was rearrested after leaving prison because he had to face an extradition hearing relating to matters being pursued by authorities in Western Australia.
They were calling for him to be sent back to the state, as he escaped from a West Australian prison while he still had eight and a half years left on his sentence.
Abbott was a mastermind while he was behind bars. In 1989 he escaped from Fremantle Prison in WA after creating a fake prison officer uniform.
From there, he was on the run for five years and it is believed he stole millions of dollars, although the money was never recovered.
He was caught in Surfers Paradise and put in Sir David Longland Prison in Wacol but escaped in 1997.
He was dubbed the “Postcard Bandit” in the early 90s when he sent his family photos of himself on the run.
After escaping from the Queensland prison, he was a fugitive for only six months before he was captured in Darwin in 1998 and he was taken back to Queensland.
On Tuesday, the decision was made that Abbott would be extradited back to Western Australia.
Justice David Jackson knocked back claims argued by Abbott’s legal team in Brisbane’s Supreme Court that the recently paroled criminal’s extradition would amount to an “abuse of process”.
The Courier Mail reports the notorious robber will begin the 3600km journey to Western Australia by plane, possibly as early as this afternoon.
Abbott was remanded in custody and will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court within seven business days.
The Courier Mail reports Abbott’s solicitor Brendan Nyst was disappointed for his client.
“I spoke to him on Friday ... we knew there was a possibility he could be extradited, he has told me he will accept the decision,” he said.
“He hasn’t given up hope, he will go to WA now and he will explore his legal options over there.
“Possibly legal avenues could reduce the amount of time he has to spend in prison over there, so we will look into those.
“He is a resilient character and him and his family haven’t given up hope that he will have a life outside of prison.”