Canadian authorities have tightened the net around one of the country’s most notorious jailbreaks. John Potvin has been returned to Canada and appeared in a Vancouver court after being extradited from Spain, accused of helping mastermind the dramatic escape of gang-linked killer Rabih Alkhalil.
Potvin, an Ottawa resident, is charged with prison breach and conspiracy to commit prison breach tied to Alkhalil’s July 21, 2022 escape from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam. Investigators say Potvin was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant and an Interpol Red Notice before Spanish authorities arrested him last fall. He was formally taken into Canadian custody this week.
The case is being led by British Columbia’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit alongside the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which say the extradition marks a major step forward in dismantling the network behind the breakout.
Two other accused accomplices are already behind bars. Ryan Van Gool, of Harrison Hot Springs, remains in custody in B.C. on prison breach charges and faces additional firearms offences linked to an alleged murder conspiracy in Kamloops. Edward Ayoub is being held in Ontario on unrelated matters and is expected to be transferred to B.C. to face charges for his alleged role.
As for Alkhalil himself, he was arrested in Qatar in September 2025. Canada has no extradition treaty with Qatar, but officials say talks are ongoing to bring him home. The message from investigators is blunt: the escape may have succeeded once—but accountability is catching up.
