(CNN) A fugitive attempting to flee Australia on jet ski came agonizingly close to freedom before authorities caught him, following a 150 kilometer (93 mile) chase across the Torres Strait.

The man, thought to be a 57-year-old British fugitive wanted on drug charges, was trying to reach Papua New Guinea and was "possibly armed with a crossbow and carrying additional fuel and supplies," according to an Australian Border Force (ABF) press release.

He was apprehended on mud flats off the eastern side of Saibai Island, just kilometers from the Papua New Guinea mainland, according to the ABF.

The fugitive traveled about 150 km (92 miles) by jet ski before he was apprehended near a small island off the southern coast of Papua New Guinea.

An ABF spokesperson later confirmed to CNN that the man they apprehended was a UK citizen and that he was not in possession of a crossbow, as suggested in earlier reports.

The action movie-style escape began in Queensland, after locals alerted police that the suspect had been seen launching the jet ski from Punsand Bay, on the northern tip of mainland Australia.

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