He is an Australian writer, best known for the novel Shantaram.
Background
He is a former heroin addict and convicted bank robber who escaped from Pentridge Prison, fleeing to India where he lived for ten years.
In 1990, Roberts was captured in Frankfurt after being caught smuggling heroin.
Career
He started writing Shantaram during his second stay in prison. The manuscript was destroyed by prison wardens, twice, while Roberts was writing it. Shantaram is based on true events or is a conflation of real life and fantasy.
