Fugitive Briton who made it 90 miles on jet ski to avoid charges in Australia gets more jail

Crossbow-wielding British drug dealer who made it 90 miles across the sea to Papua New Guinea on a jet ski to avoid charges in Australia gets four months jail

  • David James Jackson, 57, was armed with a crossbow and loaded with supplies
  • The Briton attempted the 90 mile journey across the Torres Strait in March
  • He made it to Papua New Guinea before he was arrested by multiple vessels
  • The father-of-two was jailed for seven years in June for drugs offences 

A British fugitive who made it 90 miles across the sea to Papua New Guinea on a jet ski has been sentenced for his wild escape from Australia.

David James Jackson, 57, set off from the tip of Queensland and made it to Papua New Guinean waters armed with a crossbow on a jet ski laden with supplies.

But he was arrested by several border force vessels on the eastern side of Saibai Island after they chased him down in March this year.

Jackson was extradited to Western Australia and jailed in June for seven years and five months for possessing an illegal drug with intent to sell or supply and possessing stolen property.  

David James Jackson (pictured during his extradition to Perth) was arrested on the eastern side of Saibai Island – just a few miles from the Papua New Guinea mainland – after trying to evade authorities

David James Jackson, 57, set off from the tip of Queensland and made it to Papua New Guinean waters in a jet ski laden with supplies in March this year (pictured after he was stopped by Australian Border Force)

David James Jackson, 57, set off from the tip of Queensland and made it to Papua New Guinean waters in a jet ski laden with supplies in March this year (pictured after he was stopped by Australian Border Force)

Jackson was apprehended by authorities just three miles from the Papua New Guinea mainland

Jackson was apprehended by authorities just three miles from the Papua New Guinea mainland

The charges date back to 2016, when police found 840g of 85 percent pure methylamphetamine inside a speaker box in his car.

The District Court of Western Australia heard the long-term stimulant user had accepted meth as part payment for his work as a tow truck driver and when his boss went into custody, he was pressured to take over the drug dealing business and also wanted to maintain his own supply.

Jackson planned to go to trial but entered late guilty pleas, then fled the country while out on bail and awaiting sentencing.

He intended to start a new life in Bali but had no plan for when he got there and did not have much money.

Jackson faced Perth Magistrates’ Court via video link from the maximum-security Casuarina Prison on Wednesday and was sentenced for breaching bail, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing stolen property.

The court heard the weapon was a stun gun that was found in his car when police pulled him over in Perth city centre in 2016 while the stolen property was 10,250 Australian dollars (£5,600) in cash suspected of being either the proceeds of drug sales or money to buy drugs.

Jackson left via Punsand Bay, in the far north-east of Australia, on a jet ski (pictured) and travelled around 90 miles through the Torres Strait

Jackson left via Punsand Bay, in the far north-east of Australia, on a jet ski (pictured) and travelled around 90 miles through the Torres Strait

The cash was found by police, again in 2016, when they went to a property looking for someone else and spotted Jackson sitting in a vehicle, trying to hide it.

The father-of-two was fined a total of 500 Australian dollars (£275) for the bail breach and weapon charges, and handed a four-month prison sentence for the cash, to be served concurrently with his current jail term.

After serving it, he likely faces deportation to the UK, which he left at the age of five.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk