Broncos star’s dad Gregor Haas must face justice in Indonesia, say cops
Indonesian authorities say statements and evidence obtained from six arrested Indonesian nationals point to Gregor Haas being the chief ‘operative’ of a local narcotics ring.
Indonesia’s counter-narcotics board says Australian Gregor Haas, father of Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas, must face prosecution in Indonesia over allegations he helped smuggle 5.1kg of crystal methamphetamine into the country from Mexico and should not be deported from The Philippines to Australia.
Philippines immigration officials told The Australian last week they expected discussions could occur between Indonesia, Australia and The Philippines over Mr Haas’s fate, after his arrest on Cebu Island a fortnight ago on an Interpol red notice, given that under Indonesian law he faces a possible death sentence if convicted.
Indonesian authorities issued the international arrest warrant after intercepting the drugs stashed inside a package of ceramic house tiles sent from the western Mexican city of Guadalajara on December 5.
Mr Haas, an Australian with Swiss and Filipino heritage, left Indonesia the next day on a legal passport for Manila.
National Narcotics Board (BNN) spokesman Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono told The Australian he was confident Mr Haas, 46, would “very soon” be deported to Jakarta from Manila – where he was being held in immigration detention – and that international legal principles dictated he should face justice in the country where the alleged crime was committed.
“An Indonesian that commits a crime killing an Australian citizen in Melbourne, he will be indicted over there, prosecuted and imprisoned over there,” Brigadier General Pudo said.
“It’s almost impossible (that should not be so). We have good co-operation with Interpol. We work in a good manner and respond to other requests. We help them and they help us.”
But the senior official would not comment on whether Indonesia might agree to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for Mr Haas’s swift deportation, saying that was a “politics” issue that went beyond the narcotics board’s authority.
Brigadier Pudjo said the BNN and police had been tipped off that a consignment of meth had been sent from Mexico, and had been tracking it with the assistance of the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Interpol before intercepting it at Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta international airport.
“We got information several days before that there was a drug syndicate ring going to send drugs into Indonesian territory, and we set up an interception on December 5,” he said.
Authorities quickly arrested the “receiver” of the package, an Indonesian national known as “Mr E”.
Six Indonesians have now been arrested in relation to the drug importation, which carries a minimum penalty of five years jail and a maximum of life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Brigadier Pudjo said information obtained during interrogations and from the suspects’ phone communications pointed to Mr Haas’s involvement in the ring that organised the drugs from Guadalajara.
“From the evidence we have we are confident that he is the operative above the six Indonesian nationals,” he added.
Allegations that Mr Haas was connected to Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel also had to be further investigated.
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