Photos have emerged of 'Australia's Pablo Escobar' allegedly racing down a highway in the back seat of a luxury Range Rover at 2.30am after the accused drug kingpin cut off his ankle bracelet and 'went on the run'.
Mostafa Baluch, 33, from Sydney's Northern Beaches was granted bail on Friday against the advice of police despite facing a life sentence if convicted for allegedly masterminding the importation of a staggering 900kilograms of cocaine worth $270 million.
Police on Thursday have released pictures of Baluch in the hours before and after he vanished.
One image shows him smiling wearing a white t-shirt out the front of his property in Mona Vale on Monday.
Another is dramatically different - a CCTV screengrab of Baluch flying down the M4 Motorway near Croydon at about 2:30am on Tuesday, in a car with Queensland numberplates, alongside two associates.
The final images of 'Australia's Pablo Escobar' Mostafa Baluch before he disappeared on Monday after cutting his court-ordered ankle bracelet
The last sighting of Baluch shows CCTV footage of him flying down Pittwater Road near Bayview in his black Range Rover at around 10:30pm that evening
Former restaurateur Mostafa Baluch, 33 (pictured), had been charged with financing a 900kg shipment of cocaine to Australia and was granted bail just days ago
Baluch was arrested in June and charged with being part of a conspiracy to import more than 900kg of cocaine and was in custody until he was granted bail after putting up a $4 million property as surety.
It was a condition of his bail that he wear an electronic monitor but on Monday night he managed to cut off the ankle bracelet, which was found ditched by the side of a road on the northern beaches.
It has been claimed Baluch may have left NSW on a private jet that evening.
Police are appealing for any dashcam footage that could help identify the movements of the Range Rover with a Queensland registration plate reading 861CU3.
Anyone who has video and had been in the Mona Vale or Bayview areas near Pittwater Road from Monday until Wednesday or the M4 motorway near Croydon early on Tuesday morning are being urged to come forward.
Officers have been scouring airports and ports to ensure Baluch is not attempting to flee the country.
Police Minister David Elliott said police involved in the case were 'devastated' and he was furious Baluch had been granted bail.
'To say that I'm infuriated would be an understatement... Because quite frankly this guy was our Pablo Escobar,' he told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
'I'm starting to get sick of these magistrates and judges. They don't consider the danger which police present to them and I don't think they're reflecting the sentiment of the community they're there to serve.
'I'm sick of having to remind the legal fraternity that we're not dealing with parking tickets, we're dealing with international drug lords who are associated with terrorism, kidnapping and prostitution, but more importantly want our kids to take drugs that will kill them.'
Baluch pictured outside his home in Mona Vale on Monday hours before the international drug lord disappeared - with authorities fearing he's left NSW on a plane
His black Range Rover was left
Police allege Baluch (pictured) was the sole financier of a shipment of cocaine worth a total street value of $270 million
Police Minister David Elliott said police involved in the case were 'devastated' and he was furious Baluch had been granted bail
Mr Elliott said he had spoken to Police Commissioner Mick Fuller about the difficulties in capturing the escapee.
'This will be a tough job for the NSW police - make no mistake,' he said.
The Australian Federal Police and its international law enforcement partners are also involved.
'We've got the technology, we've got the manpower, we've got the international law enforcement credentials but of course we've also got to explain to some of those international law enforcement organisations how he was lost,' Mr Elliott said.
Police 'work their guts out to keep our community safe' and had been 'let down by the system', he said.
'We're dealing with international drug lords who are associated with things like terrorism or kidnapping or prostitution,' Mr Elliott said.
'This guy was (allegedly) part of an international racket with levels of drugs we have never seen before. The police expressly advised the court 'he is a bad guy'.
A $4million home in Sydney's exclusive Northern Beaches (pictured in June) will be seized by police after the owner of the property allegedly cut off his tracking device and fled
Mr Elliott said he had spoken to Police Commissioner Mick Fuller about the difficulties in capturing the escapee. 'This will be a tough job for the NSW police - make no mistake,' he said
Officers are pictured at the Bayview home when Baluch was arrested back in June
Police allege he is involved in the 'highest levels of organised crime' and cut off his ankle bracelet at about 10.30pm on Monday.
Organised crime squad commander
