Police catch wanted trio who were allegedly hiding out at Wheatbelt campsite

Police say they have caught a wanted trio who were allegedly hiding out at a Wheatbelt campsite on the run from interstate police over an attack in Townsville. Queensland Police asked for help from their WA counterparts last month to catch a man and a woman who were wanted for “serious assault and wounding offences” in the North Queensland city. A second man was also being sought in relation to a return to prison warrant in that state. As part of their investigation, Queensland Police discovered the trio had driven to WA. WA Police then launched its own investigation to hunt them down, with the rapid apprehension squad finding they had been camping in the Wheatbelt area near Chittering but were travelling back to Perth regularly. On Tuesday, police found their opportunity and pounced at Riverton Forum. The trio — a 21-year-old woman, a 41-year-old man and a 20-year-old man appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday where a request to extradite them was approved. Detective Superintendent Peter Foley, of the rapid apprehension squad, said “collaboration with other policing jurisdictions is key to prioritising community wellbeing and building safer communities”. “The WA Police Force has long-standing relationships with our interstate counterparts and we work collaboratively with policing jurisdictions across the country on a regular basis to help achieve our shared objectives,” he said. “Western Australia is not a safe haven for anyone attempting to evade law enforcement in their own state or territory and these three people will now be returned to Queensland to face the consequences of their offending.” The arrests come as the rapid apprehension squad released its list of 19 most elusive fugitives — the wily criminals who have avoided apprehension on return-to-prison warrants. They are all believed to have fled the State, with some of them also understood to be at large overseas. Among the names on the hitlist is drug trafficker Ardil Khan, 28, who was jailed for six years in 2020 for his role in a multimillion-dollar drug syndicate operating out of WA in 2017. Ardil is the brother of Yusuf Khan, the owner of the collapsed The Library Nightclub and linked to failed builder Modco Residential. He was back in the headlines this week when his nightclub, now known as Preach, was subject to a raid by liquor enforcement police. The West does not suggest that Yusuf Khan is guilty of any offence or wrongdoing. Ardil’s sentencing hearing was told how he was a trusted member of a syndicate, who was tasked to pack millions of dollars worth of drugs into secret compartments in a van for his brother Zamal, a senior member of the organisation. Police say Ardil was released on parole two years ago and breached the conditions shortly after. It is believed he has fled overseas but where he is exactly remains a mystery. Also wanted in the operation — codenamed Operation Conroy — is convicted rapist Kiernan Donnelly. Donnelly dragged a woman from a Bunbury oval and attacked her in nearby bushes in 2007. He was jailed for more than six years and released on parole in 2022 — but as reported by The West Australian last year, he absconded and is now at large. Police are yet to reveal if any of the 19 have been caught.