After a dramatic capture, Haas’s life is practically in the hands of Australian diplomats.

Manila: The Philippine government will engage Australia in a potentially life-or-death decision over what to do with accused drug trafficker Gregor Haas, raising the prospect of a diplomatic solution that could spare it the worst of Indonesian justice.

The father of Brisbane Broncos NRL star Payne Haas faces execution if he is extradited to Indonesia and convicted there. He is accused of sending five kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico to Indonesia in a shipment of ceramic tiles, which was intercepted on December 11 of last year.

Haas was arrested in the Philippines last week in a dramatic and highly planned joint operation between local police and a contingent of Indonesian investigators who had traveled to Cebu City for the undercover operation.

In a potential high-stakes test for the Albanese government, the case has the makings of a diplomatic tangle between Indonesia, Australia and the intermediary Philippines.