HE is alleged to be one of the state’s biggest drug kingpins – a high flyer who had eluded authorities for years after disappearing while on bail.
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But on Monday, Darren Rispen, 42, was arrested in broad daylight outside a supermarket in Nelson Bay’s main street.
It ended a 2½-year search for one of Australia’s most wanted figures.
Mr Rispen had been on the run since October 2014, after failing to report to police while on bail for 27 drug-related charges.
Authorities said the 42-year-old – who is alleged to have directed a criminal group linked to a major international drug syndicate – “walked under our noses”, before he was arrested and whisked away to Raymond Terrace police station.
Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Steve Patton said Mr Rispen had been living a simple life in Nelson Bay.
Blending into the community, Mr Rispen had a girlfriend who was apparently unaware of his past, while his neighbours also had no idea.
“He was residing in a normal everyday residential neighbourhood,” Mr Patton said. “His neighbours didn’t know. He was doing his best to blend in and fly under the radar.”
Mr Rispen had grown a beard and even changed his name. While senior police said Mr Rispen had given it a “decent crack" at avoiding arrest, it ultimately wasn’t enough.
A tip-off led the State Crime Command to establish a surveillance operation in the area.
And adding Mr Rispen to a list of the NSW Police Force’s most wanted people, which contained only seven names at the time he was included, boosted the profile of the search.
Mr Rispen, then 40, was first arrested in 2014 after being caught up in a high-level investigation targeting a Sydney-based drug ring with international links.
At the centre of the investigation was an eight-seater plane allegedly used by the syndicate to import drugs and guns.
Police raided the plane at Illawarra Regional Airport and later alleged it was used to import $9 million worth of drugs.
He was also allegedly behind a meth lab and large amounts of drugs seized from properties in Sydney's south-west.
He was refused bail on Monday and will appear in Raymond Terrace Local Court on Tuesday.
