Alleged bikie boss arrested after international manhunt

An accused bikie boss has been extradited to Australia after two years on the run, including three weeks in an immigration stand-off at a Filipino airport. Alleged Hells Angels kingpin Rodrigo Elices arrived at Melbourne Airport on Saturday, flanked by police on a flight from Manila. He has since been charged with more than 50 drug and firearm offences. Authorities had been hunting for Elices across four countries since he allegedly flew to Thailand on a chartered flight using a false passport. Detective Inspector Mathew Smith, from NSW Police's anti-bikie Raptor Squad, said the 32-year-old was a key figure within an organised crime syndicate who had spent considerable effort evading Australian law enforcement. In January last year, Australian Federal Police tracked him down in Bangkok. Elices was arrested on November 8 by Thai authorities before being tried and jailed for almost 11 months on immigration offences. In October, the alleged Hells Angels member was given a royal pardon and directed to return to Australia. He was deported from Thailand and put on a flight to Brisbane, travelling via Manila in the Philippines. But after arriving in Manila, Elices claimed he had a medical episode and booked a flight to Istanbul via Abu Dhabi to avoid returning to Australia, police said. Authorities in Manila, Abu Dhabi and Ankara were alerted and Elices was denied entry into Turkey before being redirected to Abu Dhabi, where he landed on November 7. Elices then tried to board a flight to Lebanon before being sent back to Manila. After being given the opportunity to voluntarily return to Australia by the Philippines Bureau of Immigration, police said Elices instead purchased a return ticket to Taiwan. He was stopped from boarding the flight. For three weeks, Elices remained inside the transit area at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport under an order preventing him from entering the Philippines. "He was confined to a chair and he was guarded by two staff at the Bureau of Immigration ... the only way he was allowed to leave that chair was to book a flight to Australia," Det Insp Smith said on Monday. After being "forcibly deported" on November 30, Elices was finally arrested at Melbourne Airport. NSW Police took custody of the international fugitive and on Saturday he was charged with 55 drug and firearms offences. The offences relate to a December 2022 search warrant on a property in Kensington, in Sydney's east, during which police found 11 firearms, ammunition, ballistic vests and large quantities of multiple drugs. "It's been a long journey for him ... by the time he got back in the country he sort of succumbed to the fact he was going to face court in NSW for these offences," Det Insp Smith said. Authorities would also be investigating Elices' access to funds while overseas. Elices was refused bail on Sunday when he appeared at Parramatta Local Court. He is due to return to court on Tuesday.