Jim Soukoulis, a fugitive with alleged ties to the Hells Angels, was apprehended on Thursday at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, ending a six-year manhunt since he vanished while on bail in 2019. Soukoulis was wanted in connection with a major drug importation scheme.
Authorities say Soukoulis was involved in a 2017 plot to smuggle over 250 kilograms of methamphetamine from California to Australia using a light aircraft. The drugs, hidden inside a custom aluminum box within the plane’s fuel bladder, were discovered in a storage locker near Santa Rosa, California. The aircraft, destined for Melbourne, is believed to have crashed due to excess weight. The investigation was a joint effort between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), resulting in charges against Soukoulis and two others.
After disappearing in 2019 while on bail, Soukoulis was arrested in Indonesia and deported back to Australia. His ability to evade capture was allegedly aided by his extensive connections in Asia.
Soukoulis’ links to the Hells Angels are well-documented, including a 2017 photo showing him dining with senior gang members in Phuket, Thailand. Though not a member himself, his close association raised questions about his role within the group.
He faces multiple charges including conspiring to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, dealing with proceeds of crime totaling $1 million and $50,000, as well as prior trafficking charges from 2013. Notably, his mother, Georgia Soukoulis, had offered her Adelaide home as bail surety.
Soukoulis’ capture is among several recent extraditions of Australian fugitives from overseas, signaling a strong international law enforcement cooperation.
