Colombia has caught ‘The Kid.’ When will Australia get him?

Does catching “The Kid” in Colombia finally bring Western Australia’s years-long pursuit within reach of an Australian court? It brings it closer. But the distance between an arrest overseas and a prosecution at home is still measured in legal decisions, not kilometres.

Colombian police have detained Arash Ebrahimi Far, an Australian-Iranian also known as “Ash” and “The Kid,” whom Western Australian investigators accuse of arranging drug shipments to their state. Colombian authorities say administrative and judicial processes remain before he can be formally handed over to Australia. The breakthrough is custody in Colombia—not a completed extradition. ^{1 3 4}

The Colombian National Police announced the detention in Antioquia on October 1, 2026. Australian reporting followed on October 2. Neither publication date establishes the exact day or hour police apprehended him, so October 2 should not become the arrest date simply because that is when Australian audiences heard the news. El Colombiano reports that he is 31; the readable portion of the official announcement does not give his age. ^{2 3 6}

That distinction between what happened and what has been established runs through this case. The detention is supported by an official police announcement and reporting in both countries. The precise hospital circumstances, Australian officers’ operational contribution, detailed charge particulars and transfer timetable are much less clear.

A reported gunshot injury appears to have brought Ebrahimi Far within reach of police. ABC Australia’s October 2 account says officers arrested him as he left a hospital after treatment. El Colombiano’s October 1 report instead places his capture during treatment at Clínica del Norte in Bello, after he was reportedly wounded during a robbery in nearby Copacabana. Those accounts differ on the moment of apprehension. ^{3 6}

The location is also unsettled. El Espectador’s October 1 account describes detention while he was attempting to leave a hospital in Copacabana; Cambio and El Tiempo, also reporting on October 1, place the hospital detention in Copacabana. The official police notice carries a Copacabana dateline, but a dateline is not confirmation of an arrest site. Antioquia is the confirmed regional location; Bello versus Copacabana remains unresolved. ^{12 14 16 2}

The defensible account is therefore a hospital-linked detention following a reported gunshot wound. It is not a fully reconstructed interception at a hospital exit. Nor is the injury or reported robbery evidence that he committed the drug-trafficking, money-laundering or firearms-related conduct police allege.

ABC’s report attributes to Colombian police the allegation that Ebrahimi Far masterminded a transnational network dealing in large quantities of narcotics, cash and firearms. Vanguardia likewise describes an investigation involving narcotics trafficking, cash handling and firearms circulation. Western Australian police, meanwhile, have spent years developing their case over alleged shipments to the state. These are accusations, not findings of guilt. ^{1 15}

The available reporting establishes no drug weight, shipment count, laundering amount, firearms count or seizure value. It also supplies no readable inventory of physical, digital or witness evidence linking particular transactions or items to him. An arrest in an alleged trafficking case must not be reported as a seizure of drugs, money or weapons when no such seizure has been established.

Colombia’s Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, known as DIJÍN, reportedly worked with support or collaboration from the Australian Federal Police. Cambio and Semana describe that cooperation, but the available accounts do not identify AFP personnel’s tasks or establish that Australian officers physically made the arrest. ^{14 17}

The roles matter: Western Australian investigators developed the underlying case; federal police reportedly assisted the international operation; Colombian police detained the suspect. Without detailed operational records or a readable Australian police statement about this detention, claims about surveillance, intelligence exchange or who led individual steps would go beyond what is known.

The international pursuit included an INTERPOL Red Notice. Colombia’s official heading expressly identifies narcotics trafficking; Agencia PI also identifies money laundering. Those descriptions do not supply exact Australian statutory charges, a charge count, warrant particulars or an indictment. ^{2 13}

That is INTERPOL’s definition of a Red Notice. The word pending does important work: the notice seeks provisional arrest ahead of further legal action. It does not establish guilt, decide extradition or certify that a transfer has occurred. ²¹

Detention is a meaningful change from the position described last year. On December 5, 2025, The West Australian reported Commissioner Col Blanch’s frustration at a six-year wait to extradite Ebrahimi Far. ABC’s current account summarizes his earlier position as knowing the suspect was in Colombia but being unable to overcome extradition red tape. Blanch’s exact words and the specific legal or diplomatic obstacles are not available. ^{5 1}

The six-year figure belongs to the wait being discussed in December 2025; it is not a newly verified duration for the present proceedings. Having Ebrahimi Far detained changes the practical position. It does not, by itself, show that every obstacle Blanch faced has disappeared.

The longer chronology also needs care. Infobae reports that investigators place him in Colombia since December 2018 and allege that he continued directing overseas criminal operations from there. That amounts to nearly eight years by October 2026. A 7NEWS video headline describes a decade on the run, while its written reporting describes close to eight years hiding in Colombia. Those could be different intervals, but the reporting does not explain their relationship or substantiate a precise ten-year chronology. ^{8 11 18}

El Colombiano says Ebrahimi Far “will be extradited”; The West Australian describes detention for “extradition purposes.” The first is a prospective outcome, not evidence that a ruling has been made or a transfer appointed. No verified timetable has emerged from the available accounts, although that does not prove no further decision exists. ^{6 4}

So the answer to the opening question is a qualified yes: an Australian court is closer because the wanted man is now detained. Whether and when he gets there remains unresolved. The next decisive development is not another description of his alleged network. It is a confirmed legal step towards bringing him before a court to answer those allegations.

ABC News Australia: “Alleged crime boss arrested in Colombia after years on the run,” October 2 video report. ¹ Its written report, “Alleged drug kingpin Arash Ebrahimi Far arrested in Colombia.” ³

Colombian National Police: official notice announcing the detention of alias “Ash” in Antioquia under a narcotics-related INTERPOL Red Notice. ² INTERPOL: “About Red Notices.” ²¹ Australian legislation: Extradition Act 1988. ²²

The West Australian: report describing detention for extradition purposes. ⁴ December 5, 2025 report on Commissioner Col Blanch’s six-year extradition wait. ⁵ Earlier reporting on an AFP tracking operation and a major data leak. ¹⁹

El Colombiano: hospital capture in Bello following a reported robbery in Copacabana. ⁶ El Espectador: detention of alias “Ash,” sought over money laundering. ¹² Cambio: account of the wounded suspect’s capture and police cooperation. ¹⁴ Semana: account of the detention and INTERPOL notice. ¹⁷

Infobae: report on the detention, alleged offenses and time in Colombia. ⁸ Agencia PI: report identifying the Australian-Iranian sought by INTERPOL. ¹³ Vanguardia: hospital detention and alleged criminal-network activity. ¹⁵

El Tiempo: investigative account of the pursuit. ¹⁰ Separate report on the capture and nearly eight years in Colombia. ¹⁶ 7NEWS: video headlined “Perth drug kingpin arrested in Colombia after decade on the run.” ¹¹ Written report on Ebrahimi Far’s detention. ¹⁸

DiarioDía: report on Colombian-Australian police collaboration. ⁷ Europa Press: report describing detention for extradition purposes. ²⁰ Australian Federal Police: older joint-investigation release, whose unnamed suspect cannot safely be identified as the detainee in this case. ⁹