Bali Nine member Matthew Norman has been arrested in Sydney just weeks after his return to Australia.
Norman has been charged over an alleged car theft that happened almost 20 years ago, before his failed drug smuggling mission to Indonesia.
He handed himself in at Waverley Police Station in eastern Sydney on Monday after discovering officers had not forgotten about the alleged offence, according to the Daily Telegraph.
He was put back behind bars when police refused him bail, although later on Monday he faced court and Magistrate Stephen Barlow granted him bail.
Police allege he and Bali Nine counterpart Renae Lawrence stole a white Ford Laser hatchback from Gosford in March 2005.
The pair allegedly went on a joyride that ended when police stopped them with road spikes.
Norman faced court for the alleged offence back in 2005, but was released on bail and left the country for his drug smuggling trip to Indonesia.
His new charge comes after he made a secret pilgrimage to his mother’s graveside.
Norman’s mother Robyn never got to see her son walk free from jail before she died in January 2024 while he was still serving almost 20 years for trafficking heroin.
But after his sudden release from Bali’s notorious Kerobokan Prison last month, one of the first things Norman, 38, did on his return to Australia was to visit her grave.
He has been living at a $4million home in Torquay, on the Great Ocean Road south of Melbourne, since his release and attending a local church.
The property is owned by Christian couple Ann and Alan Wilkins, who offered it to Norman after forming a close relationship with him while he was in prison.
Norman’s Indonesian wife Anita, who has joined him as he rebuilds his life in his home country, says he is gradually settling back into life as a free man.
‘Thank you for all of our lovely friends that keep praying for this miracle,’ she posted on Facebook.
‘Rejoice, happiness. Visited his mum’s grave and his dad and his pop and sisters, uncles and nephews.’
Norman was sentenced to death in 2006 after he was caught trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin out of Bali. The sentence was reduced to life in prison in 2008.
Norman, along with Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen were all released from prison in Indonesia last month, after being jailed almost 20 years ago.
They were transferred home to Australia after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia following weeks of negotiations.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer at a meeting with new Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Summit in November.
President Subianto agreed to let the prisoners free on humanitarian grounds.
