Northern Territory police are searching for a remand prisoner they allege has links to the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang after he escaped from corrections custody in Darwin on Sunday night.
Isaac Thompson, 26, who the ABC understands is known to bikie associates as Baby Shark, is the third man allegedly with links to the Mongols to have escaped from NT custody in the space of a month.
Isaac Thompson is a known associate of the Mongols Outlaw Motorcyle Gang. (Supplied: NT Police Force)
In a statement, an NT Police Force spokesperson said officers had received reports around 8:15pm Sunday that a man had fled custody while being escorted from an ambulance into the emergency department of Royal Darwin Hospital.
“At the time, the man was handcuffed and wearing only a pair of shorts and socks,”
the statement said.
“He was last seen running on foot along Rocklands Road.”
Police alleged Mr Thompson was a “known associate of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang”.
Police are continuing to search for Mr Thompson, with the Fugitive Taskforce, Strike Force Trident and the Dog Operations Unit involved in the search effort.
Sergeant Kenneth Bradshaw said police were urging the man to hand himself in and asked the public to contact police if they saw him.
“We’re asking members of the public not to approach him. If you see him, call Triple Zero immediately,” he said.
Anyone who sees Mr Thompson or has information about his whereabouts is asked to contact police on Triple Zero (000) and quote reference number P26191473.
Police are urging anyone with information about Isaac Thompson to contact them immediately. (Supplied)
NT court listings reveal Mr Thompson was due to appear in the Darwin Local Court this morning for a directions hearing on drugs and weapons charges.
Previous court records show Mr Thompson has a criminal history dating back to 2018, and has previously appeared in court on charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, drug possession and trespassing.
He was also charged in 2020 for escaping lawful confinement, a charge he was convicted of after pleading guilty.
A month of Mongol escapes
Mr Thompson’s escape from custody on Sunday is the latest in a recent string of escapes by associates and members of the Mongols bikie gang in the NT.
Two weeks ago, police reported a 31-year-old alleged “known association of the Mongols” escaped custody while under the supervision of corrections at Royal Darwin Hospital.
His escape, however, only lasted eight minutes before he was caught and re-arrested.
Earlier in June, patched member of the Mongols, Brandt Graham, 44, fled the dock in the Darwin Local Court, triggering a five-day city-wide manhunt.
Mr Graham was eventually arrested by members of the police dog squad.
Brandt Graham fled Darwin Local Court last month. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
Macquarie University criminologist Vincent Hurley said this many alleged escapes “in such a short period of time, is of major concern”.
“Especially given that the Mongols … would have associates or affiliations with other outlaw motorcycle gangs,” Dr Hurley said.
“So, once they escape from custody, then they can easily be transferred between safe houses and homes.”
Exploiting ‘weaknesses’ in the system
Dr Hurley said some attempts to flee custody could be “opportunistic” while others “can be pre-planned, to the point that they would know the weakness in the system”.
Noting all three alleged Mongols-linked escapes in the NT this month “happened outside a correctional facility”, he said public spaces may also have “more distractions” and “more people around” than within the rigid structure of a jail.
“The [allegation] that there’s been three would indicate that the inmates know that there is a weakness there to be exploited,”
Dr Hurley said.
“It could be that the person [in custody] has put on a fake illness, which is really common, so corrective services are obliged to take them to hospital.”
Vincent Hurley is a former police officer who now works as a criminology researcher. (ABC News: Jack Ailwood)
He said while some illnesses were genuine, some may be feigned or even “brought on” intentionally.
Dr Hurley listed occasions when corrections have “minimal staffing”, or where only handcuffs were used without leg shackles, as other examples that could help escapees “easily get away”.
“After three [alleged] escapes, I would’ve thought after two [alleged] escapes, leg shackling would have been on the cards [or] absolutely being used,” he said, pointing to a strategy often used in New South Wales.
“It can be done quite compliantly, without any pain or any discomfort to the [alleged] offender.”
The Mongols are a nationwide organisation. (Supplied: NT Police)
He said some bikie gang members were convicted of violent crimes, such as armed robberies or drug trafficking.
“These are violent offenders, outlaw motorcycle gangs — their whole life, their organisation is all about violence and they are not going to stop that violence once they’re out in public,” he said.
Dr Hurley said people were in “custody for a reason”.
“Anyone escaping from custody will put the community at risk because they have nothing to lose,” he said.
“They will use, generally, whatever means they can to make sure that they’re not caught.”
The researcher likened the connection between outlaw motorcycle gangs to “an underground network” with the ability to harbour members and move across suburbs.
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“It’s also important to remember that, with the Mongols for example, they’re nationwide — so not only are they operating in the Northern Territory … they would have resources to move individuals interstate,” he said.
Dr Hurley said it was “not uncommon” for trucks to be used in this transfer process, with heavy vehicles providing bikie associates “safe passage” as they attempt to “avoid capture interstate”.
He called on the NT government to assess the risk of “insufficient security” gaps within corrective services, describing the current system as “unacceptable”.
“There is something lacking that’s allowing these inmates to escape and it should not be the case,” Dr Hurley said.