Graham Potter has finally been arrested after spending 12 years on the run as Australia’s most wanted man.
The man responsible for alleged murder plots and decapitating a teenager back in the 1980s has been arrested.
Potter, 64, disappeared in 2010 when he was due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, charged with plotting murders.
He is alleged to have been planning to kill two people and was also wanted over his purported involvement in a 4.4 tonne, $440m ecstasy haul.
Potter was arrested early Monday morning at a house in the Far North Queensland town of Ravenshoe, roughly 40km south west of Cairns.
Police said Potter was climbing down from a bunk bed in a dark room with makeshift curtains in broad daylight when authorities stormed in.
The curtains were made from bed sheets.
Kittens were locked up in metal cages, while rubbish and debris was littered throughout the house.
His personal items were scattered throughout the abandoned building.
Knives, bug spray, flash lights, lubricant, binoculars and cable ties were among the murderer’s items.
The convicted criminal was stocking up on bottles of pasta sauce, lemonade and canned food.
In the 1980s, he spent 15 years in prison over the murder of teenager Kim Barry who he beat before cutting off her head and fingers.
The gruesome killing took place on his buck’s night.
Her body was found scattered throughout the mountains in Wollongong – south of Sydney.
Potter was released in 1996.
In vision released by police, the 64-year-old was seen on a bunk bed before he is handcuffed and taken into custody.
“This is the police. Do not move,” one officer was heard shouting at Mr Potter.
“Put your hands where I can see them.”
Potter has been previously linked to organised crime figures across Victoria and NSW.
He was known to dramatically change his appearance and take on aliases to stay under the radar.
Potter allegedly evaded capture for more than a decade by changing his appearance and identity, including wearing fat suits and wigs, and befriending elderly women for accommodation.
“Over that period of time, a significant amount of law enforcement agencies right across Australia had been involved in the hunt for [Potter],” Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Frewen said.
Queensland police received reports of possible sightings of Potter in 2011 in the Queensland town of Tully – just 50km from where he was arrested on Monday.
He managed to escape from police despite being pulled over in a routine traffic stop.
At the time, police uncovered a campsite believed to have been used by Potter, allegedly finding knives and letters detailing how he planned to stay hidden.
In these letters, the offender bragged about how he had used fat suits, hair dye and wigs to go undetected.
Victoria Police will travel to Queensland to seek Potter’s extradition.
He is expected to appear before Mareeba Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
