Vic police nab murder suspect in Qld

A far north Queensland man has fronted Cairns Magistrates Court charged with a cold case Melbourne murder of a low-level drug dealer.

Christopher Lavery, 30, appeared briefly in the dock on Wednesday afternoon.

Lavery was remanded in custody and his matter was adjourned until Thursday to enable him to hire a lawyer.

Victorian detectives flew to Queensland to charge the Cairns local with the death of James Russouw.

The charred remains of the cannabis dealer were allegedly found on the front seat of his burnt-out Jeep Cherokee in east Melbourne on March 7, 2008.

An autopsy later revealed the 24-year-old had been stabbed to death.

Police are expected to apply to have Lavery extradited to Melbourne when the matter resumes.

The arrest comes just one month after Victoria Police announced a $1 million reward for information on the anniversary of Mr Russouw's death.

At an inquest into his death in 2013, the coroner found Mr Russouw had been at his older brother's house when he received a phone call.

Less than an hour later, emergency services were called to reports of a car fire at a nearby reserve.

Police believe Russouw could have been carrying more than $10,000 cash on him at the time of the alleged murder.