An outstanding arrest warrant means Bali Nine inmate Scott Rush will not be able to celebrate Christmas with his loved ones this year after almost 20 years behind bars.
Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen left Howard Springs Accommodation Village near Darwin on flights to their home states after landing in Australia on Sunday.
Rush is the only Bali Nine inmate who will not be reunited with his family this Christmas while his legal team liaises with Queensland Police regarding a previous arrest warrant.
He is expected to return home from the Northern Territory in the coming weeks.
Queensland Police have said they are aware of the existing warrant against Rush and are in contact with his legal team.
The Bali Nine were arrested on drug smuggling charges for attempting to smuggle 8.6kg of heroin from Denpasar airport in April 2005 and have since spent more than 19 years living in squalid cells.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto reached a top-secret deal with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that granted clemency to the surviving members.
The five men are banned from returning to Indonesia for life.
Bali Nine member Scott Rush (pictured arriving in Darwin on Sunday) will not be able to return to Queensland due to an outstanding arrest warrant.
Smugglers Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen have been pardoned by the Indonesian government for their drug trafficking charges.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said neither Rush nor Czugaj, who also lives in the state, would receive help from his government to return home.
“Drug imports have horrendous consequences on both ends, in both nations, and this was an incredibly sad and tragic story,” Crisafulli said.
“What I hope happens as a result of this is that it reinforces the message to a new generation of younger people who may not even have heard of this case, that there is a zero-tolerance approach to drugs.
“If by highlighting this case and the repercussions of decisions made many years ago we can prevent even one person from taking that risk and destroying their lives, and potentially thousands more lives, then there will be a ray of good that will come from a truly tragic situation “. situation.’
The outstanding warrants against Rush concern his alleged involvement in the theft of money from the Commonwealth Bank in 2005.
A police spokeswoman said officers were in contact with his legal team.
“Queensland Police are aware of arrest warrants for a 39-year-old man in relation to outstanding matters and are in contact with his legal representation,” he said.
“For operational and privacy reasons, it is not appropriate to provide further comment on the matter.”
Rush’s legal representatives are in contact with Queensland Police in relation to his alleged involvement in the 2005 Commonwealth Bank money theft.
Ironically, it was Lee Rush, Scott Rush’s father, who contacted the Australian Federal Police to request that they prevent his son from leaving Australia, desperate to prevent him from becoming involved in any drug-related activity in 2005.
The AFP passed this information on to the Indonesian authorities, who swooped on the group and arrested them at the airport.
Rush’s lawyer claimed in 2005 that the AFP had abandoned its promises to prevent the group from leaving Australia and instead allowed them to fly to a country they knew could execute smugglers.
Subsequent arrests at Bali’s Denpasar airport and elsewhere in Indonesia foiled the plot and ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death. Both were executed by firing squad in April 2015.
Rush was originally sentenced to life in prison, but later appealed the verdict to have his sentence reduced to 20 years.
Rush’s father, Lee, is the person who tipped off AFP that his son was going to try to smuggle drugs from Bali, leading to the capture of the Bali Nine (pictured, Scott Rush and Lee Rush).
Czugaj returned to Brisbane on a red-eye Qantas flight from Darwin that landed in Queensland at 5.30am on Friday.
He was accompanied by a squad of AFP officers and refused to speak to the media upon arrival.
His father was seen leaving his home in Beerwah at 12.30pm on his way to Brisbane Airport and it is understood Czugaj returned home with him that same night.
Meanwhile, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen reportedly arrived at Gate 10 of Melbourne Airport at 6.50am on Friday, where they were greeted by a small group of family members.
Neither of them told the media what they were waiting for.
Martin Stephens also arrived in Sydney on the same day.
Norman, 38 years old, He is expected to move into a seafront mansion in Torquay, a popular tourist town known for its surfing beaches.
The $4 million two-story home has four bedrooms and is a stone’s throw from Cozy Corner, a beach popular with tourists and young families.
Other surviving members of the Bali Nine returned home on Friday, including Matthew Norman (pictured), who is moving into a $4 million home in Melbourne.
albanian lord He said the surviving members of the Bali Nine had paid “a serious price” for their crimes.
‘It’s time for the Bali Five to return home. They committed a serious crime. ‘They paid a serious price… (As did) their families… They had paid a significant price for the crime they committed,’ he said on Friday.
“It’s time for them to come home and I’m glad it happened.”
A statement issued on behalf of the men said they were “relieved and happy” to be back home on Sunday.
“In both Australia and Indonesia, both at senior level and in prison visits and personal assistance, for many years, DFAT has offered professional and long-term support,” the statement read.
‘The men and their families will always be grateful.
‘They hope, in time, to reintegrate into society and contribute to it.
“The men’s well-being is a priority, they will need time and support, and we hope and trust that our media and our community will take this into account.”