Detective involved in 'Australia's most wanted' manhunt reveals regret

A retired detective who was heavily involved in the manhunt for "Australia's most wanted man" has revealed one of his biggest regrets with the case.

"I have to say the arrest of Graham Potter was my biggest regret," retired Detective Superintendent Gerard Ryan told A Current Affair.

Mr Ryan said he believes Potter, 64, is "still dangerous to this day" following his arrest yesterday.

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Potter was found by Queensland Police at a house on Ascham Street in Ravenshoe in Far North Queensland, which is where he was believed to have been living.

After 12 years outsmarting police, it was apparent the fugitive had been holed up in squalor.

He was escorted between piles of rubbish, newspapers stacked up the walls and what looked to be the home of hoarder.

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Queensland Police detectives told media today that Potter had "been keeping a low profile" and that they had "been to that residence previously" but were unsuccessful.

Potter's clean-cut, ordinary look proved to be the ideal disguise for an alleged killer on the run, with Victoria Police conceding his trail went cold.

Mr Ryan oversaw the Purana Taskforce that probed Melbourne's underworld.

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Potter's criminal history goes back to 1981, when he murdered and mutilated Wollongong teenager Kim Barry on his buck's night.

He served 16 years of a life sentence behind bars.

After moving to Tasmania in 2002, federal police swooped on him there in August 2008 for alleged drug trafficking.

On August 12, 2008, he was extradited to Victoria over what police allege was a $440 million ecstasy and cocaine haul.

But on September 8, Potter was then granted bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Police then allege he was hired to murder two underworld figures.

It's alleged there were plans in place at a kickboxing tournament, at gangland figure Mick Gatto's son's wedding in Melbourne's Docklands and at a social club just north of Melbourne's CBD.

But the alleged hit jobs never came off.

On May 28, 2009, police charged Potter with conspiracy to murder, but again, he got bail.

The following year on February 1, 2010, he was a no-show at his scheduled court hearing and so began Australia's biggest manhunt.

"We know on several occasions that he befriended women in small towns and was able to evade police and kept his identity very low profile," Mr Ryan revealed.

Queensland Police revealed today that Potter is still using aliases such as "Josh Lawson" and he also went by the names John Page and Jim Henderson.

One of his campsites left behind clues, such as equipment, a knife and hand-written notes on how to survive.

"The number one disguise that was always talked about was the 'fat suit' when he was in Tully, when they found his campsite there," Mr Ryan said.

After Potter skipped his court hearing on February 1, 2010, he was seen near Cairns on August 23, 2010.

Five days later, on August 28, 2010, police got close to him after spotting him in a car in Tully, south of Cairns - but he escaped.

In 2011, police announced a $100,000 reward to find the fugitive.

And in 2013, there were unconfirmed sightings in New South Wales, in Tocumwal and Cobram near the Murray River.

Now 12 years after skipping court in Melbourne, Victorian detectives are in the process of hauling him there themselves.

They'll extradite the fugitive from Queensland to front a magistrate in coming days.