How Australia's most wanted man was caught in Darwin

For a time Brenden Abbott, AKA the Postcard Bandit, was the most wanted criminal in Australia before his time on the run came to an unusual end in Darwin. This is how it happened.

Abbott is one of Australia’s most notorious bank robbers and gained a reputation as a criminal mastermind after successfully escaping from prison twice.

His first escape was from Fremantle Prison in November 1989 when he and another inmate, Aaron Reynolds, made fake guard uniforms while working in the jail’s tailor workshop.

After dressing in their uniforms, the inmates cut through the bars of the workshop and accessed the guard’s walkway before exiting the prison.

Reynolds was caught a few weeks after the escape, but Abbott remained on the run for more than five years before he was recaptured on the Gold Coast.

While Abbott was free, he was suspected to have committed bank robberies in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Less than three years after he was jailed a second time, Abbott and four other prisoners escaped the Sir David Longland Prison at Wacol after using smuggled angel wire to cut through their cell bars.

When they made it to the perimeter fence, Abbott and his cohorts were thrown bolt cutters by an outside accomplice, Brendan Berichon, before finishing their escape.

Crime and intelligence officers got wind it was likely Abbott was on his way to Darwin. In response, NT Police stationed personnel on roads leading into the Territory.

The plan was to catch him out in the open, but information soon came to police that both Abbott and Berichon had avoided the net and made it to Darwin.

Without social media, police had to rely entirely on the media to disseminate information and images of the wanted men to the general public.

Police received a tip from staff at the Top End Hotel who recognised Berichon from the wanted posters. Cops staked out the hotel and found Abbott coming and going from one of the rooms.

They then followed Abbott to a laundromat before arresting him at a nearby pizza shop after confirming his identity. Despite having a loaded pistol in a bum bag, Abbott went quietly.

Police soon had both fugitives in custody when Berichon was arrested after he was tracked to a Darwin address found in a notebook belonging to Abbott.

Abbott was released from Woodford Correctional Centre in 2016 after serving 18 years of his 25-year sentence for robbing three banks in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the 1990s.

After his release, he was served with an outstanding warrant over his 1989 escape and role in the Fremantle Prison riot of that year and extradited to Western Australia.

He is now serving out his sentence for armed robberies in Western Australia, plus an additional five months for his escape. He is eligible for parole in 2026.

Words: Judith AisthorpeProducer: Andrew Piva

NewsBite

How Australia's most wanted man was caught in Darwin

Abbott is one of Australia’s most notorious bank robbers and gained a reputation as a criminal mastermind after successfully escaping from prison twice.

Rise to infamy

His first escape was from Fremantle Prison in November 1989 when he and another inmate, Aaron Reynolds, made fake guard uniforms while working in the jail’s tailor workshop.

After dressing in their uniforms, the inmates cut through the bars of the workshop and accessed the guard’s walkway before exiting the prison.

Reynolds was caught a few weeks after the escape, but Abbott remained on the run for more than five years before he was recaptured on the Gold Coast.

While Abbott was free, he was suspected to have committed bank robberies in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Less than three years after he was jailed a second time, Abbott and four other prisoners escaped the Sir David Longland Prison at Wacol after using smuggled angel wire to cut through their cell bars.

Second escape

When they made it to the perimeter fence, Abbott and his cohorts were thrown bolt cutters by an outside accomplice, Brendan Berichon, before finishing their escape.

Crime and intelligence officers got wind it was likely Abbott was on his way to Darwin. In response, NT Police stationed personnel on roads leading into the Territory.

The plan was to catch him out in the open, but information soon came to police that both Abbott and Berichon had avoided the net and made it to Darwin.

Without social media, police had to rely entirely on the media to disseminate information and images of the wanted men to the general public.

Hunt for a fugitive

Police received a tip from staff at the Top End Hotel who recognised Berichon from the wanted posters. Cops staked out the hotel and found Abbott coming and going from one of the rooms.

They then followed Abbott to a laundromat before arresting him at a nearby pizza shop after confirming his identity. Despite having a loaded pistol in a bum bag, Abbott went quietly.

Police soon had both fugitives in custody when Berichon was arrested after he was tracked to a Darwin address found in a notebook belonging to Abbott.

Abbott was released from Woodford Correctional Centre in 2016 after serving 18 years of his 25-year sentence for robbing three banks in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the 1990s.

Serving more time

After his release, he was served with an outstanding warrant over his 1989 escape and role in the Fremantle Prison riot of that year and extradited to Western Australia.

He is now serving out his sentence for armed robberies in Western Australia, plus an additional five months for his escape. He is eligible for parole in 2026.

Words: Judith AisthorpeProducer: Andrew Piva

How Australia's most wanted man was caught in Darwin

Abbott is one of Australia’s most notorious bank robbers and gained a reputation as a criminal mastermind after successfully escaping from prison twice.

Rise to infamy

His first escape was from Fremantle Prison in November 1989 when he and another inmate, Aaron Reynolds, made fake guard uniforms while working in the jail’s tailor workshop.

After dressing in their uniforms, the inmates cut through the bars of the workshop and accessed the guard’s walkway before exiting the prison.

Reynolds was caught a few weeks after the escape, but Abbott remained on the run for more than five years before he was recaptured on the Gold Coast.

While Abbott was free, he was suspected to have committed bank robberies in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Less than three years after he was jailed a second time, Abbott and four other prisoners escaped the Sir David Longland Prison at Wacol after using smuggled angel wire to cut through their cell bars.

Second escape

When they made it to the perimeter fence, Abbott and his cohorts were thrown bolt cutters by an outside accomplice, Brendan Berichon, before finishing their escape.

Crime and intelligence officers got wind it was likely Abbott was on his way to Darwin. In response, NT Police stationed personnel on roads leading into the Territory.

The plan was to catch him out in the open, but information soon came to police that both Abbott and Berichon had avoided the net and made it to Darwin.

Without social media, police had to rely entirely on the media to disseminate information and images of the wanted men to the general public.

Hunt for a fugitive

Police received a tip from staff at the Top End Hotel who recognised Berichon from the wanted posters. Cops staked out the hotel and found Abbott coming and going from one of the rooms.

They then followed Abbott to a laundromat before arresting him at a nearby pizza shop after confirming his identity. Despite having a loaded pistol in a bum bag, Abbott went quietly.

Police soon had both fugitives in custody when Berichon was arrested after he was tracked to a Darwin address found in a notebook belonging to Abbott.

Abbott was released from Woodford Correctional Centre in 2016 after serving 18 years of his 25-year sentence for robbing three banks in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the 1990s.

Serving more time

After his release, he was served with an outstanding warrant over his 1989 escape and role in the Fre­mantle Prison riot of that year and extradited to Western Australia.

He is now serving out his sentence for armed robberies in Western Australia, plus an additional five months for his escape. He is eligible for parole in 2026.

Words: Judith AisthorpeProducer: Andrew Piva

After his release, he was served with an outstanding warrant over his 1989 escape and role in the Fremantle Prison riot of that year and extradited to Western Australia.