Northern Territory police have arrested a 23-year-old New South Wales man after he allegedly illegally crossed the Northern Territory border.
According to police, the man arrived at the Kulgera Border Control Point, about 275 kilometres south of Alice Springs, on September 13.
At the checkpoint, police said they told the 23-year-old he would need to spend 14 days in mandatory hotel quarantine if he entered the NT as he had recently visited a NSW hotspot.
Anyone who enters the NT from a declared COVID-19 hotspot — which includes the state of Victoria and Greater Sydney — needs to enter the forced government-managed quarantine and pay $2,500 to cover the cost.
Police said that after explaining this to the traveller, the man chose not to enter NT and drove back towards South Australia.
But later that same day, police say they found the man's car "abandoned in a culvert" about 2km south of the border control point.
Police arrested the 23-year-old yesterday in the community of Yulara, a remote township near the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and said they believe the man "crossed the border on foot and then hitchhiked".
Incident controller Acting Commander Sachin Sharma said the man had been tested for COVID-19 and returned a negative result.
"He is currently undergoing quarantine in Alice Springs," he said.
"The vast majority of travellers have been very cooperative and it is disappointing to see some continue to risk other people's safety."
The 23-year-old man has been issued a notice to appear in court for contravening an emergency declaration and making a false statutory declaration.
He is due to appear in Alice Springs Local Court on September 28.
The infringement penalty for failing to abide by the Chief Health Officer's directions is $5,056 for an individual and $25,280 for a business.
In the NT, 2,391 compliance checks have now been completed and 150 fines issued.
