Alleged drug trafficker Mostafa Baluch, who sparked one of Australia’s biggest manhunts, will remain behind bars after a brief court hearing this morning.
The 33-year-old chose to remain in his cell when a Magistrate decided to revoke his bail at Central Local Court in Sydney.
He is accused of cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet and fleeing his northern beaches home almost three weeks ago.
Mr Baluch was extradited from Queensland under a heavily-armed police escort last night and was charged with an outstanding arrest warrant.
No application for bail was made today and he will face court again next month.
Mr Baluch was caught hiding in a car on the back of a truck near the Queensland border on Wednesday morning after a major police manhunt.
He vanished on October 25 , fleeing his luxury home on Sydney's northern beaches four days after being granted bail on drug importation charges.
After a costly multi-agency search, a truck was pulled over near the NSW-Queensland border on Wednesday after it raised suspicions for having an unlocked shipping container on the back.
Police knocked on the shipping container Mr Baluch was hiding in and instead of keeping quiet, he knocked back.
He was then found inside a Mercedes which was inside the container.
Sources close to the investigation said Mr Baluch was allegedly planning to escape to Thailand before catching a plane to the Balkans in south-east Europe, where he has "strong and powerful underworld friends".
"We are really glad we got to arrest him before he fled the country because it would have taken years to get him back, and cost millions of dollars," a senior detective said.
Mr Baluch landed at Sydney's Bankstown Airport last night after a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Coolangatta on the Gold Coast before being driven to Silverwater Jail.
The 33-year-old was dressed in prison greens and shackled.
A massive operation — involving police from four states — as well as federal and oversees intelligence agencies resulted in Mr Baluch's capture.
Police said Mr Baluch was expected to face more charges for allegedly organising the importation of 900 kilograms of cocaine from Ecuador into Australia in June.
