Graham Potter: One of Australia's most wanted men nabbed after 12-year hunt

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Image source, Queensland Police

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Graham Potter was pictured looking dishevelled in a derelict residence at the time of his arrest

Australian police have arrested one of the country's most wanted fugitives following a 12-year manhunt.

Graham Potter, 64, has been on the run since 2010 after failing to make a court appearance to face conspiracy to murder charges in Melbourne.

Police arrested him on Monday morning after receiving information that he was at a house in the state of Queensland.

Footage of the arrest shows him standing in a dilapidated room before being handcuffed and taken away.

A convicted killer, Potter had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981 for the decapitation and murder of a teenage girl. He was released after serving 15 years of his sentence.

On Monday, he was arrested at 08:45 local time (23:45 GMT Sunday) at a residence in Ravenshoe, Cairns.

At the time of his hiding, Potter was facing federal charges over an ecstasy and cocaine haul worth A$440m (£232m, $317m), in addition to the conspiracy to murder charges.

There had been several unconfirmed sightings of him across the country since his disappearance, but police had reached a dead end in their search for Potter in 2017, according to Australian outlet The Age.

An A$100,000 reward had been offered for information leading to his arrest.

Potter had experimented with changing his appearance and demeanour to evade detection, as he was discovered with items of disguise including hair dye, according to Victoria Police.

"This certainly puts to end a long and protracted end to a hunt for a very high-end fugitive that is wanted for very serious criminal charges," said Mick Frewen, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Crime Command in Victoria.

Potter will be extradited to the state of Victoria, where he will be presented at the magistrate's court on Tuesday.

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