A man wanted in connection with the prison escape of a notorious gang member has been arrested in Spain. John Potvin, 49, was apprehended on Thursday, according to a news release from British Columbia’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. He was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for his role in helping Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil, a member of the Wolfpack gang, escape from a Port Coquitlam jail three years ago.

On September 8, authorities announced that 17 charges had been laid in the investigation surrounding Alkhalil's escape. Potvin, along with two other individuals, Ryan Van Gool, 46, and Edward Ayoub, 48, faced charges of conspiracy to commit a prison breach and the actual breach itself. Van Gool was arrested last month, while Ayoub was already incarcerated on a separate charge.

Prior to his arrest, Potvin's whereabouts were unknown. Investigators had been collaborating with international agencies to locate him and had recently secured a red notice for his capture after learning he might have left Canada. On Friday, they received confirmation from Ottawa Interpol that Potvin had been taken into custody in Spain.

Alkhalil himself was arrested in Qatar last month after being on the run for over three years. He escaped from the North Fraser pretrial jail in July 2022, just a month before a Vancouver jury convicted him in absentia of first-degree murder for the 2012 killing of Sandip Duhre, a rival gang member. Alkhalil was also found guilty of conspiring to kill Duhre and Sukh Dhak, another gangster who was shot in Burnaby in November 2012.

This was not Alkhalil's first murder conviction; he was already serving a life sentence for the June 2012 murder of Johnny Raposo in Toronto. In addition to his murder and conspiracy charges, Alkhalil faces charges related to his escape, including forcible prison break and escape from lawful custody.