The father of NRL Broncos player Payne Haas has been arrested in the Philippines over an alleged drug smuggling plot, which could see him face the death penalty.
The 46-year-old was arrested in Cebu City on Wednesday and is now facing extradition to Indonesia.
“We suspect him to have networks all over Asia, and we also suspect he has networks in Australia,” National Narcotics Agency spokesperson Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono told the newspaper.
“We have good cooperation with Australian police, so we will work with them too.”
Indonesian authorities have been searching for Haas after five kilograms of meth was allegedly discovered in December, according to local media outlet Tempo.
Haas also allegedly has links to a Mexican drug cartel according to multiple local news outlets and was found using the fake name Fernando Tremendo Chimenea.
Bureau of Immigration-Fugitive Search Unit chief Rendel Sy told outlet GMA Integrated News the arrest came as a result of a coordinated effort with US and Indonesian drug enforcement agencies.
“The search for him was quite challenging because he knows that the law is looking for him, so he uses different passports or IDs so that he can move freely while hiding,” Sy claimed in an English translation of Filipino.
