Graham Potter to return to Melbourne to face court

Despite a widespread belief that he was dead, Australia’s most wanted man Graham Potter had some contact with mafia figures during his time on the run.

Fugitive gangland figure Graham Potter jetted back into Melbourne on Wednesday after 12 years spent “avoiding being killed”.

The bearded Potter flew into Melbourne Airport cuffed and flanked by two Victoria Police detectives after his dramatic arrest in the north Queensland town of Ravenshoe on Monday.

The 64-year-old was escorted across the tarmac to a waiting unmarked Ford Ranger police vehicle.

Potter then appeared in a brief hearing via videolink with the Melbourne Magistrates Court just after 8pm. He did not apply for bail and was remanded into custody for a committal mention on May 18. Magistrate Andrew McKenna said a precis of the charges against Potter include conspiracy to murder, drug trafficking and failing to answer bail.

Potter’s lawyer Damian McNally sought an application that Potter be assessed for a protective custody order.

But Magistrate McKenna said that was normally dealt with during the remand screening although he suggested that authorities be made aware of the issue.

While in transit to Melbourne, Potter looked conspicuously different to the beefy figure charged over an underworld murder plot and high-level drug trafficking who bolted from the law.

Escaped fugitive Graham Potter arrives back in Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie.

He now looks more lean, with a bushy grey beard and sun-beaten skin.

As he walked through Cairns International Airport surrounded by media, Potter said he did not think this day would come and that he had spent his time at liberty “living life.”

Potter remarked that he had been “avoiding being killed” during that period.

He declined to elaborate on what that meant, but the runaway was once on close terms with some of Australia’s most dangerous organised crime figures and it is possible his apprehension will have serious ramifications in that sphere.

The Herald Sun has been told Australia’s mafia knew Potter was alive, despite a widespread belief that he was dead. Although those connections were not harbouring the fugitive, sources said he had some contact with “Ndrangheta” figures during his time on the run, a prominent mafia syndicate.

It is expected he will be locked up under the highest levels of security available.

Cairns

Graham Gene Potter says he spent the past 12 years “avoiding being killed”. Picture: Liam Kidston

It come after police seized the mobile phone of the woman who owns the Ravenshoe shack where Graham Gene Potter was captured on Monday.

They are now shifting their focus to finding out how he managed to stay hidden over the years.

They have questioned Sandi Feller, the woman who owns the shack, about her ­involvement with him.

Residents in the street told the Herald Sun Potter had lived at the property before, indicating the pair had some long-term association.

Potter was flanked by detectives as he made his way to Cairns Airport. Picture: Liam Kidston

However, the woman is not in custody and has not been charged.

Detective Inspector Kevin Goan, of Queensland Police, revealed officers had been to the property previously looking for Potter, but found “no cause” for further searches.

“We’ve had information over a number of years that he may have been frequenting that residence,” he said.

“There’s a body of work to be done when the Victorian detectives get here to ascertain if there will be charges preferred against any other person who may have been harbouring Potter while he was in Queensland.”

Graham Potter may face more changes upon his return to Victoria.

When police busted Potter inside the dilapidated ­Ascham St shack on Monday, he claimed to be named Josh Lawson. He was also known as “Ned” by people in town.

A biometric live scanning machine was used to confirm he was, in fact, Potter – Australia’s most wanted fugitive. Inspector Goan said once he knew his cover was blown, Potter began cooperating.

“I can say that he is a ­personable fellow. He is happy to speak with us in relation to any number of issues,” Inspector Goan said.

Inspector Goan said police were working to backtrack Potter’s movements over “at least the last decade” to determine exactly who helped him hide and “whether or not there is any criminal offences that have been committed”.

The person who tipped off police to Potter’s location is at this stage unknown, but stands to cash in on the $100,000 reward posted by Victoria Police years earlier.

There have been many ­reported sightings of Potter in the Ravenshoe and Cassowary Coast areas.

Police now believe most of his time on the run was spent in that area.

And in a remarkable twist, it appears he hid in plain sight for significant slabs of time.

The house where Potter was found. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ascham St resident Skye Adamson told how it was an open secret Potter lived at the property years ago.

Back then, parents warned their school-children to steer clear of the home, located two doors down from the local primary school.

“I wasn’t too surprised (Potter was arrested at the home) because he was there years ago, maybe eight years ago. My mum got interviewed because he was hiding out at the house. Some of my friends weren’t allowed to walk past there for a while,” Ms Adamson said.

Ravenshoe Butchery owner Dick Jenson said Potter would buy sausages and steak “every Wednesday at six”.

Ravenshoe teenager Leroy Wilkes, 16, said many in town held suspicions about the ramshackle home.

Potter was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering and dismembering 19-year-old Kim Barry on his bucks night in 1981, but was released in 1996.

He was later connected to the 2007-08 mafia-led “Tomato Tins’’ gang. Potter was charged with drug trafficking and three counts of conspiracy to murder in the wake of the failed drug importation.

Potter will face a Victorian court on Wednesday.

After being granted bail, he skipped town, using aliases and donning disguises, including fat suits and wigs to stay under the radar.

The long road to justice has restarted, however, with the notorious fugitive due to return to Melbourne on Wednesday to face court.

Victoria Police was tipped off to the convicted killer’s whereabouts on Sunday, the Herald Sun can reveal.

The information was passed to Queensland Police, which swiftly raided the squalid Ravenshoe property and ended Potter’s 12 years on the run.

Significant security ­arrangements have been put in place to ensure the escape artist is returned to Victorian custody as smoothly as possible.

Victorian detectives will closely guard the 64-year-old as he boards a flight to Melbourne from Far North Queensland.

He will then face court on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

It’s possible fresh charges could be laid against Potter, who fled Melbourne in 2010 while on bail.