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"Do not move!": Fugitive arrested after 12 years on the run

<p dir="ltr">A man who has been on the run for over a decade has finally been <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/qld/fugitive-wanted-over-conspiracy-to-murder-arrested-after-12-years-on-the-run-c-5782114" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in Far North Queensland.</p> <p dir="ltr">Graham Gene Potter became a fugitive in 2010, after allegedly failing to appear in a Victorian court on charges including conspiracy to murder and Commonwealth drug offences.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Potter faces drug charges in relation to a $440 million ecstasy and cocaine haul from 2008, the same year he was allegedly hired to kill a man at the wedding of underworld figure Mick Gatto’s son.</p> <p dir="ltr">Since going on the run 12 years ago, Mr Potter has been spotted in the Tablelands area of Queensland after allegedly evading police in 2010.</p> <p dir="ltr">His time on the run came to an end on Monday morning, when Queensland Police officers arrested the 64-year-old at a home in Ravenshoe, 123 kilometres south of Cairns.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FQueenslandPolice%2Fvideos%2F279288780977163%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">In <a href="https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/2022/02/21/fugitive-arrested-ravenshoe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footage</a> released by police, Mr Potter can be seen on a bed in a squalid shack.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is the police. Do not move,” one officer was heard shouting.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Put your hands where I can see them.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/graham-potter1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Queensland Police</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Potter was then handcuffed and taken into custody.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Multiple law enforcement bodies throughout Australia have been attempting to locate him for the last 12 years,” Queensland Police said.</p> <p dir="ltr">A Crime Stoppers Australia wanted post from 2021 said Mr Potter was believed to be in a relationship and living in rural Australia.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcrimestoppers.australia%2Fposts%2F1385298348490063&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="638" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">“He has welding, beekeeping, hydroponics, aquaponics, gold prospecting and earth moving skills, and is most likely to look for work as a caretaker, farm hand or outback station hand,” the post from February read.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Potter was known to use disguises such as wigs and fat suits, and has been the subject of several unconfirmed sightings over the years.</p> <p dir="ltr">He has previously served 15 years in prison for the 1981 murder and mutilation of NSW woman Kim Barry.</p> <p dir="ltr">A $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest has been in place since 2011, and was still active up until his recent capture.</p> <p dir="ltr">Detectives from Victoria travelled to Queensland to extradite him ahead of his appearance in court on February 22.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Queensland Police</em></p>

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Mafia fugitive caught after being spotted on Google Street View

<p>An Italian mafia fugitive has been found after 20 years on the run after being spotted on Google Maps in Spain. </p> <p><span>Gioacchino Gammino, one of Italy's most wanted mobsters, was handed a life sentence after being convicted of murder in 1989, before escaping prison in 2002. </span></p> <p><span>Following his escape, he fled to a town north of Madrid and changed his name before opening a fruit and vegetable shop. </span></p> <p><span>Despite his new identity, Italian police were hot on his tail after spotting him by chance on Google Street View standing outside a grocery shop named </span>El Huerto de Manu, Manu's Garden.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Gammino had since changed his name to Manuel.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Nearby where he was spotted, police found a listing for a restaurant named <span>Cocina de Manu which had been closed for some time.</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Despite the restaurant appearing to be closed, the establishment's Facebook page was still active and showed photos of Gammino proudly posing in chef's clothing, with the menu featuring a specialty <span>Sicilian supper, with a design similar to the iconic poster for <em>The Godfather</em> film.</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Police recognised the images of Gammino on Facebook thanks to a distinct scar on his chin. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>He was arrested on December 17th, and was baffled at how authorities tracked him down. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>He said after his capture, "How did you find me? I haven't even phoned my family for the last 10 years."</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Gammino will now be returned to a jail in Italy were he will see out the remainder of his life sentence for murder. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><em>Image credits: Google Maps</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Fugitive found in a cave after 17 years on the run

<p>A Chinese fugitive who had been on the run for 17 years has been found living in a mountain cave.</p> <p>Song Jiang escaped from prison camp in 2002 while serving time for trafficking women and children.</p> <p>Yongshan police tracked down the 63-year-old’s whereabouts to the mountains behind his hometown in Yunnan province after receiving a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/man-found-living-cave-fugitive-mountains-17-years-yunnan-province-yongshan-police-prison-a9125941.html" target="_blank">tip-off</a>.</p> <p>The police’s drones spotted a piece of blue steel on a cliff in the forest, along with household garbage.</p> <p>Police said Song had been living in a cave measuring less than 21 square feet (1.95 square metres) in size.</p> <p>Pictures from inside the cave released by police showed blackened pots and layers of makeshift bedding.</p> <p>According to state media, he survived by collecting river water in a plastic bottle and making fires with tree branches.</p> <p>Investigators said Song had trouble communicating and had not taken a bath or done laundry in “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/chinese-fugitive-found-living-cave-after-17-years-run-n1060166" target="_blank">a long time</a>” due to his seclusion.</p> <p>Song has now been sent back to jail.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see the pictures from the cave.</p> <p><em>Photo credit: Yongshan Police</em></p>

International Travel

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Oops! Canadian fugitive caught after revealing his location on Facebook

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Canadian fugitive has made a major mistake that has led to his arrest as he invited police right to his doorstep.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jessie Dean Kowalchuk, 27, was wanted in westernmost British Columbia province for violating his probation which was related to three separate crimes in 2015, according to </span><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/oops-canadian-fugitive-caught-after-facebook-location-reveal"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SBS.</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When he spotted his photo on the website of television station</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> CFJC Today</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in Kamloops, he sent a Facebook message to taunt the news show’s producers and revealed that he was in the capital of Alberta.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"News flash morons I'm in Edmonton and not coming back," Kowalchuk wrote, according to the station.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, despite Kowalchuk declaring he wasn’t coming back, he was unaware that the police could go to him. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police are pleased with the arrest.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We're just really pleased that he sent the message advising where he was living in Alberta and that we were able to extend the warrants to Alberta so that we could bring him back here to face charges," federal police Corporal Jodi Shelkie told public broadcaster </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">CBC</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"You've got to face up to your actions at some point and you know it doesn't matter where you go - sooner or later, the police are going to find you," she said late on Tuesday.</span></p>

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