Former AFL star Dane Swan reveals he almost ended up in a Brazilian jail

AFL star Dane Swan has revealed how a trip to Brazil almost turned into a nightmare with him threatened with jail time. 

Speaking on KIIS FM’s Jase & PJ in the Morning podcast on Monday, the Brownlow medal winner spoke of how he was confronted by police outside a shanty town. 

‘All the police wait because they’re not allowed into the towns,’ he said, saying the trip to the South American country took place in 2011. 

‘All the police were waiting out the front for the gringos I think they call us, and we went down and the coppers pull over all the white guys, all the tourists out of there and they search,’ he added.  

‘Never been more scared in my life,’ he told the radio hosts. 

Dane said he was told by the police that he had to pay $10,000 or else he would be put in a Brazilian jail. 

The footballer said he asked the police to be taken to an ATM, but was reassured by his friend to ‘relax’ as they negotiated with them.   

‘I’m thinking I’d just won the Brownlow and this is going to be the end of my life,’ he said, concerned about the media attention.

‘Don’t even worry about being stuck in a Brazilian jail cell. I’d just come off a decent year and had a reasonably big contract,’ he said. 

Far from taking him to a jail cell, the mates pooled their money – which added up to about AUD$70 – and then handed it to the police. 

The men were then let go without incident. Dane went on to speak about how the near-miss was actually quite thrilling for him. 

Dane will soon welcome a child alongside girlfriend Taylor Wilson. 

The couple, who have been dating since 2010, posted about their pregnancy to Instagram last year.