Time running out for ‘Dougie’ Desic

A 65-year-old man who escaped prison and evaded capture for three decades on Sydney’s northern beaches could face deportation after revealing his true identity to police last year.

Darko Desic escaped prison three decades ago and now faces deportation back to Croatia.

A 65-year-old man who escaped prison and evaded capture for three decades on Sydney’s northern beaches will be ­released from Silverwater prison on Wednesday, but could face deportation after revealing his true identity to police last year.

Darko “Dougie” Desic, who escaped Grafton prison in 1992 using a hacksaw blade and boltcutters, is expected to be transferred to Villawood Detention Centre, after completing a three-year conviction first ­imposed on him back in 1990 for two counts of cultivating ­cannabis.

Desic, who escaped prison to avoid deportation back to Yugoslavia during a period of civil war and unrest, sought ­refuge in Sydney’s northern beaches where he worked as a handyman and lived as a fugitive for more than three decades, under the assumed Christian name “Dougie”.

Darko ‘Dougie’ Desic.

Sydney-based lawyer Paul McGirr, representing the 65-year-old handyman, said “time is running out” for his well-known client, who made global headlines after he “outed himself” to police. “At the time of his escape, he genuinely feared conscription into the army, opposed the war and didn’t want to fight in it. But he has always accepted the reason why he was originally put into custody.”

Mr McGirr said a stay application on Desic’s potential deportation to Croatia remained unanswered by the federal government, with a backlog “making matters increasingly difficult”.

Lawyer Paul McGirr. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Under Australian law, the visas of non-citizens who have served more than 12 months in prison are automatically cancelled. But the minister can exercise discretionary powers, taking into account the risk someone poses to Australia, and problems the individual could face when deported.

“Without the intervention of the government it looks highly likely he will be taken to Villawood and potentially face deportation,” Mr McGirr said.

“We’ve done everything in our power to put a stay on his deportation, and hope time doesn’t run out for him.”

Mr McGirr said his client handed himself into police last year, when the pandemic left him without his home and much of his income.

Since his arrest, the former fugitive has garnered support and donations from more than 500 northern beaches residents, who launched a GoFundMe campaign to help secure Desic accommodation, a full-time job and “give him some purpose”.

Local resident Scott Matthewson, who helped launch the GoFundMe campaign, said Desic had a long-established reputation for helping out in the community and being a “decent bloke and a skilled worker”.

“Every second day I’ll have someone come up to me in Avalon and ask what’s happening to Dougie … He’s lived here almost half his life and been a good bloke to everyone, so we just all want common sense to prevail and there will be an intervention.”

Mr Matthewson said he hoped the community groundswell would sway the government and convince it that Desic was a “good man who had made amends through a long history of community work”.