Gregor Johann Haas,the father of NRL star Payne,in an image provided by the Philippine government.Credit:Philippine Bureau of Immigration
“The drugs were seized by Indonesian authorities who later discovered via testimonies elicited from arrested drug couriers that the packages were sent by Haas from Guadalajara,Mexico,” the Philippine government said on Sunday.
“Indonesia authorities have accused Haas,who has alleged links to the Sinaloa drug cartel,of being behind the attempt to smuggle into Indonesia on December 11,2023,a shipment of floor ceramics filled with more than five kilograms of the illegal methamphetamine drug substance.”
The Sinaloa cartel is one of the most powerful criminal organisations in the world. It was formerly headed by the drug kingpin known as “El Chapo”.
As revealed by this masthead on Friday,the quantity of drugs found in the December bust is more than enough to qualify Haas for execution in Indonesia if he is extradited and convicted.
Brisbane Broncos player Payne Haas (left) and Gregor Haas at the 2019 Dally M Awards at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.Credit:AAP
Philippine Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the arrest,which involved co-operation between local,Indonesian and Interpol investigators,was “a major accomplishment of the BI[Bureau of Immigration] in its continuing drive to flush out wanted foreign criminals in the country.”
The Philippine government has not responded to questions about whether it would allow extradition,or if it would impose a condition that Haas not be executed in the case that he was ultimately found guilty.