NZ media reports Serhani in NZ, but is he?

UPDATE 5.30am Fri 28 Aug 2009
We have been led to believe that Serhani has left Indonesia and could be in or near Brunei.
WIKIPEDIA: Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, Brunei is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Whitsundays Online

Many NZ media outlets are reporting today (and now 1000gmt Fri 28 Aug 2009 UK media) that 'The Fake Arab Prince', Abdelkarim Serhani, is in New Zealand, however we have been led to to believe he is still in Indonesia, or may have already moved on to a neighbouring country.

The advance "I'm coming to your town' announcement is a trick used often by Serhani to 'throw off' the authorities (and others) who wish to catch up with him. Usually it means he is heading in the opposite direction, and very soon, or has very recently done so.

In the past, Serhani said he was in Melbourne, when he was actually in Darwin. When he corresponded with this editor, he said he was in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, but we found him still in Indonesia, and then last Saturday we found him in or near Papua New Guinea.The Cairns Post / cairns.com.au confirmed Serhani was in or near PNG a few days ago.

There is also the possibility that Serhani did a 'test run' of the border between Indonesia and Malaysia in the past few days 'to test the waters'. As his passport was confiscated by QLD Police, and the French Department of Foreign Affairs also know of his antics, he has to attempt to cross a border illegally.

The timing of his correspondence with the Cairns Post / cairns.com.au usually means that he may attempt to cross into another country (probably Malaysia) today or tomorrow, or did in the past 48 hours.

The NZ media agencies reporting the story are:
Otago Daily Times, TVNZ, 3 NEWS, NZ Herald, Manawatu Standard, Sunday Star Times, The Press West Coast, The Nelson Mail, The Dominion Post and the Brisbane Times (AU).

Image from Cairns Post / Cairns.com.au

EDITORS NOTE : We are helping the Cairns Post and TVNZ with this story as well - if you would like to pass on any information to these media outlets, then we can pass it on for you anonymously, or we can put you in touch with them.