Fugitive Linked to Hells Angels Arrested After Six Years on the Run
by Bill Giannopoulos Greek City Times September 8, 2025
Fugitive Linked to Hells Angels Arrested After Six Years on the Run
Jim Soukoulis, a fugitive with ties to the Hells Angels, was apprehended at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on Thursday after evading authorities since 2019. He was wanted in connection to an alleged drug importation scheme and had been on bail when he disappeared.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege Soukoulis was involved in a 2017 plot to smuggle over 250kg of methamphetamine from California to Australia using a light aircraft. The drugs, discovered in a storage locker in Windsor, near Santa Rosa, were reportedly hidden in a custom aluminium box within the plane’s fuel bladder. Authorities believe the aircraft, destined for Melbourne, may have crashed due to excessive weight. The operation was uncovered through a joint investigation by the AFP and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, leading to charges against Soukoulis and two others.
While on bail in 2019, Soukoulis vanished, prompting a six-year AFP manhunt. His arrest in Indonesia and subsequent deportation to Australia mark the culmination of this effort. Soukoulis, described as well-connected in Asia, allegedly leveraged these ties to remain at large.
His connections to the Hells Angels were evident in a 2017 photo from a Phuket restaurant, where he dined with senior gang members, including Luke Moloney (a former Victorian Hells Angels member), Canadian Damion Ryan (Attica chapter, Greece), and Sydney’s Daniel Callaghan. Soukoulis was the only non-member present, raising questions about his role.
Soukoulis faced charges of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, dealing with proceeds of crime ($1 million and $50,000), and earlier 2013 charges for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine. His mother, Georgia Soukoulis, had offered her Adelaide home as part of his bail surety.
His return is the latest in a series of Australian fugitives extradited from abroad, a development likely noted by other high-profile criminals.
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