West Quebec man arrested on Interpol warrant

A man from West Quebec appeared in court Tuesday after a tactical squad burst into his La Pche home and arrested him on an international warrant.

Regent Boily, 60, is wanted in the shooting death of a prison guard killed during a breakout six years ago from a Mexican prison, where he was serving 14 years for drug trafficking.

Const. Martin Fournel says it's not often the small rural force receives an international extradition warrant for homicide from Interpol.

"It's very rare that we're going to have to deal with those issues. Actually, I have to admit it's a first," said Fournel.

Boily appeared dishevelled and somewhat disoriented during a two-minute court appearance Tuesday morning, at which the judge ordered him held over to Thursday.

Boily's lawyer, Christian De Laurier, said the extradition process might take years. But a Mexican official said he's confident that his government has assembled a solid case linking Boily to the killing of a prison guard in the state of Zacatecas in 1999.

Boily was just four months into a 14-year sentence for trafficking half a ton of marijuana when he was escorted out of prison for an eye exam. On the way back, a group of men stopped his car and freed him, shooting one of his escorts in the head.

Boily then made his way back to Canada without any record of entry.

Once here, he did little to conceal his identity, registering two cars in his own name, using his own social insurance number, and buying a house in his name.

He even took out a passport in his name, which is why police caught up with him.