‘Had to have been in disguise’: Town stunned by fugitive’s arrest

Locals in a small Queensland town were shocked to hear about the dramatic arrest of Australia’s most wanted fugitive despite a previous sighting.

The arrest of Australia’s most wanted man this morning is the first sighting of him in Ravenshoe for almost seven years according to a local motel and bar manager.

Manager at the Club Hotel-Motel Ravenshoe Laith Pignatt said the arrest of Victorian man Graham Gene Potter in the tiny Far North town came as a surprise with the bar manager assuming he had disappeared after an encounter with Potter several years ago.

“I’ve only seen him once, we served him in the bottle shop attached to the motel, we didn’t realise who he was until the police came through and used our security camera footage to ID him,” he said.

Graham Gene Potter has been captured.

“It was about six or seven years ago now and I ended up being interviewed by an Australia’s most wanted TV show about the incident.”

Mr Pignatt said he saw multiple police cars and the dog squad on Ascham St this morning but “only made the connection” that it was Potter’s arrest after seeing headlines.

“I thought he would have made a run for it after the police were after him last time, and obviously had been tipped off that he was in town,” he said.

“There’s no way he wasn’t walking around in disguise because we definitely would have noticed him before now otherwise.”

Acting on a tip-off, Tablelands Detectives, uniformed police and the Cairns Dog Squad attended an Ascham Street residence at approximately 8:45am where 64-year-old Graham Gene Potter was located and taken into custody.

A $100,000 reward was on offer for information leading to his arrest.

Potter was located and taken into custody. Picture: Supplied

It is alleged Mr Potter failed to appear at a Melbourne court in February 2010 on charges of conspiracy to murder.

The 61-year-old vanished after failing to turn up to Melbourne Magistrates Court where he was charged with conspiring to murder a Victorian underworld figure.

Tablelands Detectives have had previous information regarding sightings of Mr Potter in the area, where it is alleged he evaded police in Tully in 2010.

In 2019, Tully police said the release of photos of Mr Potter prompted two calls from members of the public who believed they had seen the fugitive in the town.

Arrest video capture where Potter was living. Picture: Supplied

Multiple law enforcement bodies throughout Australia have been attempting to locate him for the last 12 years.

Detectives from Victoria will travel to the Far North, to seek Mr Potter’s extradition.

The 64-year-old will appear before Mareeba Magistrates Court tomorrow, Tuesday February 22.

Originally published as ‘Had to have been in disguise’: Town stunned by fugitive’s arrest