Australia’s most infamous conman Peter Foster was taken down by undercover cops

Dramatic moment Australia’s most infamous conman Peter Foster is taken down by undercover cops – as he lands in Sydney to face fresh fraud charges over alleged multi-million dollar scam

  • Peter Foster, 57, was arrested at Port Douglas in Queensland on Thursday  
  • The notorious conman is accused of running an online sports betting scam
  • Video showed him being crash-tackled by undercover cops disguised as joggers
  • The convicted conman was extradited to Sydney Airport from Cairns on Monday
  • He was escorted to a police van, before being taken to Mascot Police Station 

Notorious conman Peter Foster has been extradited from Queensland to New South Wales to face fresh fraud charges, as dramatic footage emerges showing him being taken down by undercover police on a beach.

Foster was escorted straight from the tarmac at Sydney Airport to the back of a police van, before he was taken to Mascot Police Station on Monday night. 

The 57-year-old – famous for his role in the Cheriegate scandal surrounding the wife of former British PM Tony Blair – was arrested at 8am on Thursday while taking his dogs for a walk along Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas, Queensland. 

In extraordinary video that surfaced on Monday, two plain clothed officers disguised as joggers sprinted up behind an unsuspecting Foster before crash-tackling him to the ground.

Foster was escorted straight from the tarmac to the back of a police van, before being taken to Mascot Police Station on Monday night

The two plain clothed officers disguised as joggers ran up behind an unsuspecting Peter Foster before crash-tackling him on a Port Douglas beach last Thursday

The two plain clothed officers disguised as joggers ran up behind an unsuspecting Peter Foster before crash-tackling him on a Port Douglas beach last Thursday

Private investigator Ken Gamble photographed Foster's (in blue) takedown after playing a leading role in the latest investigation

Private investigator Ken Gamble photographed Foster’s (in blue) takedown after playing a leading role in the latest investigation 

After being allowed to return to his house following the arrest, he changed into a Hawaiian shirt.

When asked by reporters how he was feeling, he said he ‘was annoyed,’ because the arrest ‘wasn’t necessary.’

On Monday the conman was seen peering out the window of a Virgin Australia plane on the Sydney Airport tarmac while wearing the same Hawaiian shirt.  

Foster will face court on Tuesday charged with more than a dozen offences including laundering and fraud. 

The Australian Federal Police were seen at Sydney Airport on Monday night, waiting for Foster's plane to land

The Australian Federal Police were seen at Sydney Airport on Monday night, waiting for Foster’s plane to land 

Foster, flanked by the AFP, landed at Sydney Airport on Monday night before being taken straight into the back of a police wagon

Foster, flanked by the AFP, landed at Sydney Airport on Monday night before being taken straight into the back of a police wagon 

He allegedly used experts to place bets after setting up an Asia-based company called Sport Predictions. 

Police will allege the $1.8million invested was diverted to Foster, using the alias Bill Dawson, the bets were never placed and the money was laundered through NSW.

Sports Predictions is allegedly a copy of Foster’s previous multi-million-dollar con, Sports Trading Company, for which he served 12 months behind bars in Australia for trading under a false name.

Notorious conman Peter Foster 'let out a few screams' after being crash-tackled by two undercover police officers disguised as joggers in Far North Queensland

Notorious conman Peter Foster ‘let out a few screams’ after being crash-tackled by two undercover police officers disguised as joggers in Far North Queensland

The 57-year-old was nabbed while walking along a Port Douglas beach about 8am on Thursday

The 57-year-old was nabbed while walking along a Port Douglas beach about 8am on Thursday

Foster is notorious for his role in the 2002 Cheriegate scandal in which he helped Cherie Blair to buy two flats in Bristol for their children at a substantial discount. 

Foster was dating Carole Caplin, Mrs Blair’s style guru, at the time.

Mrs Blair at first denied his involvement in the deal but was forced to make an embarrassing U-turn days later after the Daily Mail published emails between them where she described him as a ‘star’.

She made a public apology saying she had been unaware of Foster’s criminal background and blaming the pressures of trying to protect her family for the ‘misunderstanding’.  

Foster romanced Carole Caplin who was good friends with Cherie Blair, wife of then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Foster romanced Carole Caplin who was good friends with Cherie Blair, wife of then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair

The serial scam artist was taken to his home following the Thursday morning arrest. He changed into a Hawaiian shirt and emerged in handcuffs

The serial scam artist was taken to his home following the Thursday morning arrest. He changed into a Hawaiian shirt and emerged in handcuffs

Private investigator Ken Gamble photographed Foster’s takedown after playing a leading role in the latest investigation. 

Mr Gamble – of IFW Global, which investigates internet fraud worldwide – tracked Foster after being approached by a businessman who believed he had been the victim of an elaborate fraud. 

The private detective kept the fraudster under surveillance for a month before tipping off the police about his alleged betting scam and his whereabouts. 

They took over the surveillance and made the dramatic early morning arrest. 

Through his relationship with Ms Caplin (left) to Foster got Ms Blair (pictured) involved in 'Cheriegate', one of the most embarrassing episodes in recent British politics, when he arranged for her to buy two flats in Bristol at a discount

When the deal was exposed by the British press, Ms Blair (pictured) claimed she wasn't personally involved in the deal and barely knew Foster

Through his relationship with Ms Caplin (left) to Foster got Ms Blair (right) involved in ‘Cheriegate’, one of the most embarrassing episodes in recent British politics, when he arranged for her to buy two flats in Bristol at a discount

Foster was spotted driving a $400,000 Bentley through the streets of the Gold Coast in March

Foster was spotted driving a $400,000 Bentley through the streets of the Gold Coast in March 

How Peter Foster helped embarrass the Blairs in Cheriegate scandal  

In 2002, Cherie Blair – the wife of then-British PM Tony Blair – came under unwanted scrutiny after buying two cut-price flats with the help of Peter Foster. 

Foster was dating Mrs Blair’s confidante and ‘fitness guru’ Carole Caplin at the time and helped her to secure the flats in Bristol. 

Mrs Blair said she had wanted to buy the flats after their son Euan started at university in the city.  

Downing Street initially denied that Foster was involved, but was caught out when the Daily Mail published emails between them in which Cherie described Foster as a ‘star’. 

The PM’s wife was forced into a public apology, saying she did not know Foster had been in prison and that Caplin had assured her he was a ‘reformed character’. 

She apologised for embarrassing the Labour government and insisted that ‘throughout all of this, I have only ever wanted to protect my family’, while saying there had been no wrongdoing. 

The Blairs in 1997, the year that Tony Blair came to power after a landslide general election victory

The Blairs in 1997, the year that Tony Blair came to power after a landslide general election victory 

 

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PETER FOSTER  

Early Years

As a teenager in the late 1970s, Foster began promoting nightclubs and boxing matches on the Gold Coast. But he was declared bankrupt in the early 80s after trying to sell tickets for a Muhammad Ali fight in Australia that never came off. He was also fined $A100,000 in Britain for trying to claim insurance for a cancelled fight.

Slimming Teas

Undeterred, Foster hooked up with a number of high-profile British girlfriends who he used to promote his ‘slimming’ Bai Lin Tea. He fled Britain and fraudulently re-marketed the product as Chow Low Tea in the US where he was caught and forced to serve four months in jail. He was also jailed in the UK when he returned in 1995.

Cherie-Gate

Foster sparked two weeks of turmoil for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002 when he became a financial adviser to Blair’s wife Cherie. He and girlfriend Carole Caplin, a confidante to Mrs Blair, helped as ‘middle men’ in the purchase of two flats in Bristol.

Fijian Follies

Chased by local police in 2006 for forging documents about his criminal history, Foster strips down to his underpants and dives from a bridge into a river but hits his head on a boat and is captured. He then goes on a hunger strike, preventing hospital staff from handing him over to police because he’s too weak. While on bail, escapes to Vanuatu on a boat.

Slim Pickings

Foster is declared bankrupt by the Federal Court in January 2018 after refusing to pay court costs relating to SensaSlim, a scam weight loss company. He was jailed in 2014 for contempt of court over SensaSlim, before which he had spent around a year in hiding in a bush property near Byron Bay..

Sports Rorts

Foster arrives six hours late to his sentencing at a Sydney court in October 2018 after being sentenced for possessing a fake Irish passport in order to get an offshore betting license for a sports trading company. His lawyer told the court his client’s delay was down to food poisoning. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk