Photos of Alkhalil jailbreak suspects are fake and available for purchase online

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Coquitlam RCMP confirmed on Saturday that two photos they published a day earlier as alleged accomplices in the brazen escape of accused killer Robby Alkhalil are fake.

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But Const. Deanna Law said the men in the photos, which are available on websites selling fake IDs, resemble the two people who arrived at the North Fraser Pretrial Center in Port Coquitlam on Thursday and pretended to be contractors there to make repairs. .

Instead, they used a plasma torch to extract Alkhalil, 35, who is in the midst of a gang trial on murder and conspiracy charges.

The three men then left the compound at 1451 Kingsway in a white Econoline van around 6:48 p.m. Police have been searching for them ever since, though the van has now been located.

The suspects who helped Alkhalil escape are believed to look a lot like the photos they left behind, but those images are not them. the law said. As with many complex investigations, information changes rapidly as we proceed. For this case, time is of the essence and it is important to keep the public as informed as possible, although the facts could change as they go along.

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Online detectives sent Postmedia several photos from various websites that matched the ones originally posted by police. Postmedia then provided the photos to the Coquitlam RCMP on Saturday morning for comment.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Friday that BC Corrections is investigating how Alkhalil managed to escape from the high-security institution.

Jail contractors are subject to security checks, including criminal background checks, multiple sources also said.

Farnworth said the escape appeared to have been sophisticated and well-planned with “the truck and the uniforms.”

“There is a full investigation into what happened,” Farnworth said, adding that the probe would “identify how it happened, why it happened, and then make sure that if there were any gaps or glitches, they are changed and fixed so that this doesn’t happen.” can happen”. It happens again.”

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He said he understands the public concern about the leak.

“What this shows is that we always need to make sure that when it comes to security at our facilities, the proper protocols are followed and it is as strict as possible.”

One source said that if Alkhalil is not found quickly, it will likely never be found.

“If they don’t find him in the first 48 hours, he leaves.”

Law said police are well aware that Alkhalil could try to flee the country “using his connections in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.”

Time is of the essence to have Alkhalil’s face at every airport, train station, taxi, rental car company or anywhere else he might be hiding, he said.

A warrant has been issued across Canada for his arrest while an Interpol Red Notice is being worked on.

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Alkhalil is charged with the January 2012 first-degree murder of gangster Sandip Duhre in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Center. He is also accused of conspiring with others to murder Duhre’s associate Sukh Dhak between August 6, 2011 and August 8, 2012. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The trial of Alkhalil and co-defendant Larry Amero, who is only charged with conspiracy, is scheduled to continue Wednesday even in Alkhalil’s absence. Closing arguments in the 13-month jury trial began in early July.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Miriam Maisonville told a jury of six men and six women on Friday that Alkhalil was missing and the trial would proceed without him.

“Jurors, by now some or all of you may have heard that Mr. Alkhalil has fled. I will instruct him later on what use, if any, he can make of that fact,” Maisonville said. “I remind you again that both defendants, including Mr. Alkhalil, who is not before you, are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by the Crown.”

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“The trial will continue in Mr. Alkhalil’s absence, and the Crown will have to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, as well as Mr. Amero.”

He also told jurors to “pay no further attention to media accounts or anything you read or hear on the internet, social media or otherwise.”

“This instruction is in accordance with my initial instructions to you that you must decide this case based on the evidence that is presented in this courtroom,” Maisonville said.

As closing arguments began, a Crown prosecutor told the jury that the main evidence in motive was the high-profile murder in Kelowna on August 14, 2011, of gangster Jonathan Bacon.

It was heard at trial that Bacon was one of five people, including Amero, who were in a Porsche Cayenne that was sprayed with bullets outside the Delta Grande Hotel in Kelowna. Amero, the driver, was seriously injured in the shooting.

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The Crown had previously said that the two defendants were members of the Wolfpack, a rival to the Duhre/Dhak group.

Law said that Alkhalil is considered extremely dangerous. She said North Fraser staff initially called police around 7:30 pm Thursday, 42 minutes after Alkhalil and his accomplices left.

“Right now the RCMP is working closely with BC Corrections and the investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Alkhalil is described as 5’10” and 166 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes.

“If you see Alkhalil, the police ask you to stay away from him and to call 911 immediately,” Law said.

Alkhalil is not the first person to escape from North Fraser.

In August 2008, Dean Douglas Sykes posed as his own cellmate and was brought to court where he was released as the other man. When he was caught a few days later, he received a 14-month sentence.

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And in November 2007, gangster Omid Tahvili bribed a prison guard who helped him escape from North Fraser. He was never recaptured.

BC corrections officer Edwin Ticne was later sentenced to three years and three months in prison for breach of trust. Crown lost an appeal to increase the sentence.

Tahvili’s escape was recorded by video cameras showing that Ticne “escorted Mr. Tahvili through four security doors between his housing unit and the public exit of the pre-trial center where they were separated,” the Court noted. BC appeals.

Ticne then “facilitated Mr. Tahvili’s passage through the security gates by pressing buttons that alerted staff in the central control area who opened the gates after identifying the defendant and a person who appeared to be a hired cleaner.” .

Tahvili had changed into clothes that matched those worn by hired cleaners at the pretrial detention center.

Ticne was released from jail and “drove to a nearby gas station where he would receive $50,000 to get Mr. Tahvili out of jail,” the court ruling said. However, “no one received it and no money was received.”

At the time of his escape, Tahvili was awaiting sentencing for kidnapping, sexual assault, and threats of death or bodily harm. He was sentenced in absentia to six years and three months.

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