Queensland man arrested over NSW bikie associate’s attempt to flee NT in yacht

A Central Queensland man has been flown to the NT to face charges over an alleged attempt to smuggle a bikie out of the country.

A Queensland man has been arrested over an alleged plot to smuggle a bikie associate to South East Asia in the bottom of a yacht.

The Northern Territory Joint Organised Crime Task Force has extradited and charged a 27-year-old man over an alleged people smuggling attempt.

The man, from Bowen in Central Queensland, was arrested on Tuesday and flown to the Territory to face court.

NT Police said the man was due to appear in the Darwin Local Court on Wednesday charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and supporting people smuggling.

Police will allege that the 27-year-old spent four months helping New South Wales fugitive and bikie associate Mark Horne in his attempt to flee the country.

Wanted fugitive Mark Horne was captured in the Northern Territory, more than three months after he disappeared from Sydney.

The latest arrest comes five months after Horne’s alleged botched attempt to escape the law in the bottom of a yacht.

Horne was arrested on January 25 after police tracked down the 32-year-old fugitive to the yacht at Cullen Bay.

He was extradited to Sydney in January where he faces charges over his alleged involvement in the non-fatal shooting of a truck driver and the theft of $550,000 during a robbery in the NSW Blue Mountains in 2020.

Horne is awaiting trial for robbery in company causing wounding, taking a person in company with intent to commit a serious indictable offence and a further offence of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Australian Federal Police Superintendent Greg Davis said providing support to criminal organisations was a serious offence.

Mark Horne was extradited from the Northern Territory to NSW. Picture: NSW Police

“Providing support that allows or facilitates these criminal organisations to commit offences across the country is as serious as committing those offences themselves,” he said.

Superintendent Davis said the interagency operation, involving the AFP, NT and Queensland police demonstrated their ability to crack down on organised syndicates.

“The capability exists to target these criminal groups regardless of where they are located within Australia,” he said.

Originally published as Queensland man arrested over NSW bikie associate’s attempt to flee NT in yacht