Winnipeg police arrest convicted killer sought in string of armed bank robberies

A Toronto man, previously convicted of killinghis girlfriend in Thailand, has been arrested by Winnipeg police in connection with a string of armed robberies dating back to November.

The fugitive, 61,was arrested on Thursday by the major crimes unit at a Winnipeg hotel on Sargent Avenue near Century Street following a tip from Toronto police.

Winnipeg police say they will hold him until members of the Toronto police arrive to pick him up.

In a written statement toCBC, Toronto police communications officerConst. Caroline deKloet said the man faces three charges each of robbery with a firearm, pointing a firearmand wearing a disguise with intent in connection with bank robberies between November 2017 and August of this year.

"The investigation is still active and ongoing," deKloetsaid.

Body dismembered

The accused waspreviously charged with the 1996 killing of a Thai woman whose body was found dismembered in a resort community in the south-Asian country.

Court documentsfrom his extradition case in Canada show he was living with his girlfriend in a hotel in Pattaya on the eastcoast of the Gulf of Thailand.

He allegedly cut the woman's body into pieces before dumping it in a swampy area not far from the hotel. The woman's head, arms and legs were recovered, but her torso was never found.

The documents show he left the countryalmost immediately after the killing and returned to Canada, where he was arrested and held in custody on other charges.

Hewas flown back to Thailand in 2011 to face a trial after Thai authorities had called for his return for more than a decade.

There is no word on when he arrived back in Canada or when he was released from custody.

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