While this may sound like something from an action movie, Australian officials say the drama appeared in real life over the weekend.
According to the Australian Border Force, a cargo ship on Saturday morning to the port city of Newcastle, New South Wales, encountered a yacht off the coast of Yamba, which faced water-related challenges. The crew tied a towing line with them to bring the yachts to Newcastle and took the yacht captain, a 31-year-old man, on board.
But as the ship got closer to the destination later that evening, it was discovered that the yacht-carrying towline was broken and the yacht – and the man – was missing.
Authorities called the area for the missing man, but said the border force could not be found.
On Monday – two days after the man’s disappearance – officers from the NSW Police and Australian Border Force (ABF) officers called the cargo ship with dogs and hid the man in an air conditioning unit.
The officers, who discovered that the man had violated his bail for alleged sexual abuse, thought he had deliberately cut his yacht and planned to stay on board until he left Australia for Malaysia.
The officers arrested the man and seized $ 4,435 (about $ 3,070) in cash and a knife, which would be subject to forensic examination. Border forces officials said he was charged with bail breaches and will appear in court Wednesday.
