RCMP Charge 3 Men in 2022 BC Jailbreak of Convicted Murderer Rabih Alkhalil

Rabih "Robby" Alkhalil. Coquitlam RCMP

The RCMP announced on Sept. 8 that three men who assisted in the 2022 escape of convicted murderer Rabih Alkhalil from a B.C. jail have been charged with conspiracy to commit prison breach.

The three men were named as Edward Ayoub, 48, and John Potvin, 49, of Ottawa along with Ryan van Gool, 46, of Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. Potvin’s whereabouts are currently unknown and he is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, while Ayoub is currently in custody on another matter.

At the Sept. 8 press conference, the RCMP also announced the prevention of an unrelated 2024 murder plot in Kamloops, B.C., in which Scott Telford, 61, and Bryce Telford, 28, of Surrey, B.C., are charged, along with van Gool. The trio also faces additional firearms charges related to the alleged murder conspiracy and will make their next court appearance Sept. 10.

“This is still an active investigation. There are more people that may be facing charges,” said a spokesperson for the RCMP’s Federal Policing Pacific Region and British Columbia’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit during the Sept. 8 announcement.

Alkhalil, 38, also known as “Robby,” is a de facto leader of an organized crime group called the Wolfpack Alliance linked to the Hells Angels, which is involved in the large-scale trafficking of cocaine. He escaped from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on July 21, 2022, after being convicted of first-degree murder in a 2017 killing in Toronto.

Following his escape, Alkhalil was convicted in absentia for a second murder and for conspiring to kill another gang rival, with both crimes occurring in 2012. He escaped jail by disguising himself as a contractor along with help from two other individuals.

RCMP media relations spokesperson Tammy Lobb said Alkhalil remains at large.

“We cannot confirm that Robby Alkhalil has been arrested,” Lobb said. “As your federal police agency and the RCMP, we have channels and systems in place when people have left the country and they are wanted, but in this case, we cannot confirm with you today that he has been arrested.”

Lobb also declined to comment on what an extradition process might look like if Alkhalil were arrested abroad in a country without an extradition treaty with Canada. The RCMP said that questions about where he would be incarcerated to prevent a repeat escape if caught should be directed to corrections.

Police noted that all 17 charges against the five individuals are by direct indictment and thus will go directly to trial.

There is currently a reward of up to $100,000 for Alkhalil’s capture offered by Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers and the Be On the Lookout Program, but police would not say where they believe Alkhalil may be currently located.