Development in drug trafficking accusations against Payne Haas’s dad

• Haas allegedly trafficked methamphetamine to Indonesia
• Currently being held in a jail in the Philippines
• Waiting to find out if he’ll be extradited to Indonesia 

Payne Haas’s father Gregor might be used in a prisoner swap with a Filipina woman who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2010.

Haas, 46, was arrested in Cebu City two weeks ago in dramatic scenes and is now expected to be extradited to Indonesia to face drug trafficking charges after police accused him of smuggling methamphetamine into the country hidden in floor tiles.

If convicted, he could face life imprisonment or execution by firing squad.

Filipina prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, who was sentenced to death in October 2010 for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia from Malaysia, has been mentioned in a prisoner swap deal between Indonesia and the Philippines.

Philippines Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval told the Courier Mail that the possible prisoner swap deal could be on the table. 

Haas’s footy star sons Payne and Klese reportedly haven’t been in contact with their father since his arrest, and Gregor used a journalist to pass a message to Payne, telling him he loves him and he’s sorry. 

Taufua is currently facing trial for alleged manslaughter over a horror Gold Coast car crash that left three family members dead.

Veloso, a single mother of two, was saved from the firing squad in 2015 after a woman allegedly confessed that she had tricked Veloso and used her as an unwitting drug mule for an international syndicate.

Her case has garnered significant media attention in the Philippines, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. faces pressure to negotiate her return.

Philippines authorities have stated that Haas allegedly worked with the Sinaloa drug cartel.

‘The drugs were seized by Indonesian authorities who later discovered via testimonies elicited from arrested drug couriers that the packages were sent by Haas from Guadalajara, Mexico,’ Philippine authorities claimed.

Indonesian officials have accused Haas of attempting to smuggle more than five kilograms of methamphetamine into the country on December 11, 2023.

The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as the Guzmán-Zambada Organization or the Pacific Cartel, is a notorious international crime syndicate based in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.

It is one of Mexico’s oldest, largest, and most violent criminal groups, maintaining strong influence despite the arrests of its founder Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and his son. 

The last Australians executed in Indonesia were Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in 2015.