09-06-2025
Irishman allegedly tried to assist wanted drug dealer escape Australia
Stephen Roche spent almost four months behind bars
The Irish man is accused of helping Hussein Chamas (pictured) to escape
An Irishman who allegedly tried to assist a wanted drug dealer escape Australia has been released on bail.
Stephen Francis Roche was arrested in January after it was alleged he travelled 4,700km across Oz with the fugitive hidden in his campervan.
He was charged before the courts in February.
The Irish man is accused of helping Hussein Chamas (pictured) to escape
News in 90 Seconds - 09 June 2025
Last week, he was released from jail on bail after spending 123 days on remand at Darwin Correctional Centre.
Roche's barrister Richard Bryson told a court in Darwin that his 46-year-old client was at risk of being 'prejudiced' by his time behind bars, NT News reports.
He added that Roche's daughter was living in Queensland, and that his brother would be providing him with financial support as he returned to the community.
The prosecution did not oppose bail, but Judge Sally Ozolins imposed strict conditions, including a curfew and daily check-ins at the Darwin Police Station.
Roche is also barred from applying for a passport and cannot own more than one mobile phone or SIM card. He is unable to use any encrypted devices or applications.
Stephen Roche is accused of driving Hussein Chamas, a wanted fugitive who escaped from a rehabilitation clinic in New South Wales, more than 4,600km to the Northern Territory.
Chamas was in the facility on bail after he was charged with illegally possessing a firearm, drug trafficking, and conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
He allegedly showed fake court documents to security guards at the facility before he fled in the van with Roche on January 8th.
He was arrested 18 days later aboard a yacht in the Arafura Sea.
Australian Federal Police allege the 35-year-old is a member of a syndicate which was behind the importation of drugs into Australia.
A man suspected to be fugitive Hussein Chamas is arrested on board the yacht
The syndicate was busted as part of Operation Ironside, an international police sting that intercepted millions of messages sent through the supposedly secure smartphone-based proprietary messaging app Anom.
Chamas was charged with drug offences and breaching a firearms prohibition order in July 2023 and placed in rehab after he was arrested at Sydney Airport.
The AFP were alerted of his escape on January 15, and a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on January 20.
Chamas was arrested after a member of the public alerted Australian Border Force (ABF) officers that a man was seen flashing a torch to a yacht at East Woody Beach in Nhulunbuy.
ABF and Australian Federal Police officers who had been conducting covert surveillance on the vessel watched as the yacht's crew were also seen flashing a torch back to the man.
AFP officers intercepted the yacht, and Chamas, who was identified as a passenger, was taken into custody under the NSW arrest warrant.
Two crew members of the yacht, Thomas Goertz (51) from Germany, and Jade Sui Ying Ormiston (42) from the UK, were also charged but later released on bail.
Stephen Roche is due before the court again for a hearing on July 22nd.
