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Teen and passenger, 24, arrested after alleged high-speed Eucla border breach

Headshot of Miriam Fisher
Miriam FisherThe West Australian
The Eucla checkpoint. Indiana Lysaght
Camera IconThe Eucla checkpoint. Indiana Lysaght Credit: Indiana Lysaght/The West Australian

A teenage driver and his passenger alleged to have attempted to return to WA from New South Wales after Monday’s dramatic high-speed border chase will face court.

Police said the 17-year-old driver is a WA resident who was attempting to return to the State by road from New South Wales, via Victoria and South Australia.

He had applied for a G2G Pass multiple times, but was rejected after failing to meet the threshold to be granted entry from an “Extreme Risk” location.

The teen was then granted a G2G Pass in an application made the day prior to the border crossing, but was approved based on information that suggested he had been in SA for the previous 14 days.

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Police said the teen and his 24-year-old passenger arrived at the WA/SA border COVID checkpoint in Eucla about 4.25pm on November 8, with information that suggested he had - in fact - been in NSW and Victoria in the past 14 days.

His G2G Pass was rejected and the pair were refused entry into WA.

The car returned to the border crossing two hours later, when police allege was it was driven through the checkpoint at high speed, failing to stop for officers.

The car was later found about 20km east of Norseman, and the occupants arrested before being tested for COVID-19.

The driver and passenger each face three counts of fail to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act.

The 24-year-old is due to appear in Kalgoorlie Magistrate’s Court on November 10 and the 17-year-old is next due to appear in Perth Children’s Court on 23 November 2021.

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