Sydney man Tony Haddad arrested in Darwin after arrested in Turkey in international manhunt

A Sydney man who fled to Turkey while on trial for his alleged role in importing a precursor that could produce more than two million MDMA tablets has been arrested and returned to Australia.

Tony Haddad, 46, was deported by Turkish authorities and landed in Darwin on Friday morning, where he was arrested by Australian Federal Police officers. 

He will appear in a Darwin court on Friday, where an application will be made to extradite him to NSW.

AFP allege Haddad fled to Turkey in late June, where he was detected by authorities trying to exit the country on August 14 while using a false passport. 

Turkish authorities detained Haddad after establishing his identity. 

Police allege Haddad failed to appear in court in March, 2020 to face a charge of importing a commercial quantity of 2.8tonnes of safrole oil back in 2011. 

Haddad was facing up to 25 years behind bars if convicted. 

In May, AFP’s Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team launched a public appeal for information about Haddad’s whereabouts, saying his last known location was Sydney and that he could be anywhere in Australia. 

AFP suspected at the time Haddad was allegedly hiding in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic – possibly on the NSW south coast – before he fled Australia a month later.

The AFP notified Turkish authorities he may have fled there, who in turn advised their Australian counterparts in August Haddad had been detained for using a false travel document.

Haddad was first arrested in 2011 as part of a joint investigation between the AFP and the then-Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, which allegedly found the safrole in containers labelled as hair and cleaning products imported from China in three shipments.

AFP officers arrested the alleged crime figure at Darwin Airport on Friday morning (stock image of AFP officers at Darwin)

AFP Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan welcomed the decision by Turkish authorities to deport Haddad.

‘The AFP will continue to investigate this man’s activities over the past two years, and will not hesitate to lay charges if we have evidence of criminal activity being used to finance his efforts to escape detection,’ he said.

‘This also highlights the commitment and expertise of the AFP FAST – our investigators only need a few little pieces to start putting together a clearer picture to track down fugitives seeking to hide from answering for their criminal acts.’

Haddad’s return to Australia is the second high-profile deportation from Turkey in recent months.

Alleged crime boss Mark Buddle was extradited to Australia in August.

Haddad is the second high-profile deportation from Turkey in recent months. Pictured is alleged crime boss Mark Buddle extradited to Australia in August.