Accused who allegedly aided fugitive Rabih Alkhalil's B.C. prison escape extradited to Canada

A suspect that allegedly helped fugitive Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil escape jail has been extradited from Spain and is now in Canada, according to B.C.'s anti-gang police unit.

John Potvin of Ottawa, Ont., was one of three men charged in September 2025 after allegedly helping Alkhalil escape from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on July 21, 2022.

Potvin is now in custody in Canada, according to police. He was arrested on Sept. 19 in Spain, and authorities had since been working to extradite him.

Potvin, who was charged with conspiracy to commit prison breach and prison breach in relation to Alkhalil's escape, was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant and an Interpol Red Notice prior to his arrest in Spain.

In a statement, Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha of B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit thanked Interpol and international partners for helping police "pursue fugitives beyond our borders."

Alkhalil, originally from Montreal, Que., has an extensive criminal record and was convicted in a 2012 Toronto murder, as well as a murder in Vancouver that same year.

He was later arrested in Qatar the same month Potvin was arrested in Spain.

WATCH | 3 men charged with allegedly aiding in Alkhalil's escape:

3 men charged for allegedly helping B.C. fugitive escape jail

September 9, 2025|

Duration 2:01

The RCMP on Monday announced charges against three men who allegedly assisted B.C. fugitive Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil in escaping from a Port Coquitlam jail in 2022. Akhalil, 38, is originally from Montreal and has not been located since his escape. CORRECTION (Sept. 8, 2025): A previous version of this video stated that three men had been arrested in relation to Rabih Alkhalil's escape from jail. In fact, two of them have been arrested and a third remained at large at the time of publication.

In a news conference in September, Sangha had said that video footage released from the prison break helped officers identify the men who allegedly aided Alkhalil's escape.

In July 2022, two men posing as contractors driving a white Ford Econoline van helped Alkhalil break out of the pretrial centre while he was awaiting a murder trial.

Later that same year, the Bolo Program — which stands for "be on the lookout" — moved Alkhalil to the top of its list of 25 most-wanted fugitives in Canada.