Hussein Chamas, 35, arrested in remote NT after allegedly fleeing NSW rehab centre

A man charged with conspiring to import massive amounts of meth into Australia allegedly fled a NSW rehabilitation centre using forged documents.

An arrest warrant was issued for Hussein Chamas after he failed to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on January 20, 2025. Picture: AFP

An accused druglord who allegedly fled a rehabilitation centre north of Sydney using forged documents has been caught in the most northeastern corner of the Northern Territory.

Hussein Chamas will face the Darwin Local Court on Tuesday after his arrest on the Gove Peninsula, three weeks after going missing from New South Wales where he is awaiting trial for his alleged role in a syndicate trafficking methamphetamine into Australia.

According to reports in national publications, 35-year-old Chamas allegedly left Connect Global near Newcastle on January 8 to attend a court hearing and never returned.

He had been bailed to live at the rehab since 2023 while fighting charges of conspiring to import commercial quantities of meth and gun possession.

Connect Global staff told southern media Chamas appeared to have given rehab staff forged documents suggesting the NSW Supreme Court would let him return to Sydney for a few days while meeting with his lawyers.

A warrant for his arrest was not issued until Chamas failed to turn up to a scheduled court hearing in Sydney on January 20.

On Tuesday a Darwin Local Court representative confirmed that while Chamas was in custody at the Gove Police Station, Judge Stephen Geary had refused to hear his matter over a video link.

His expected extradition hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.

Over the next 24 hours the alleged Sydney druglord will have to be transferrerd 700km west from Nhulunbuy to Darwin to attend an in-person court hearing.

Originally published as Hussein Chamas, 35, arrested in remote NT after allegedly fleeing NSW rehab centre