Fugitive Rabih Alkhalil arrested in Qatar: police

Rabih Alkhalil, a high-profile Canadian fugitive who escaped a B.C. prison three years ago, was arrested overseas, police say.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU) says Alkhalil was arrested in Qatar this month.

Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil broke out of the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam in July 2022 with the help of two men posing as contractors. Investigators have been on his trail ever since.

For the past two years, Alkhalil has been on Canada’s Bolo 25 Most Wanted list with the reward for information leading to an arrest as high as $250,000.

As of early September, $50,000 was being offered to potential tipsters.

“Rabih Alkhalil is an extremely dangerous individual,” said Bolo program director Max Langlois when announcing the $25,000 reward in October 2022.

“He has a lengthy criminal record, he is a twice convicted murderer, he has extensive ties to organized crime.”

Alkhalil escaped from the pretrial facility just before a first-degree murder trial was set to wrap up.

He was found guilty in absentia, adding to previous murder and conspiracy to commit murder convictions tied to organized crime.

On Sept. 8, police announced that a 46-year-old B.C. man had been charged with conspiracy to commit prison breach and prison breach.

Additionally, two other men from Ottawa were charged with the same crime, one of whom was arrested in Spain on Sept. 19.

“The arrest of Rabih Alkhalil marks the end of one of the most complex fugitive investigations Bolo has seen since its creation,” said Langois in a statement Thursday.