Accused Calgary killer Nathan Gervais is back behind bars in Calgary after being on the run for nearly two years.
Police said he was first apprehended in November 2017 by police in Vietnam.
Global News has learned he was arrested for being in the country with a fraudulent passport. That sparked a deportation order.
Gervais, 22, was deported back to Canada last week.
READ MORE: Accused Calgary killer Nathan Gervais arrested while on the run in Vietnam
Calgary police were then invited to Vietnam to help facilitate his deportation back to Canada. He flew first to Japan and then Toronto. Once he was on Canadian soil he was arrested by Peel Regional Police.
Police said his transfer to Calgary was facilitated by Alberta sheriffs.
Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm explained it was the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam that notified CPS last month Gervais was to be deported. Homicide detectives were invited to assist with that process, and accompany him back to Canada.
“This is like nothing else in my 28 years of policing that I’ve ever come across,” Chisholm said.
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“The work by our investigators — the work, the cooperation between other agencies — was absolutely tremendous.”
Gervais is charged with the first-degree murder of Lukas Strasser-Hird. Strasser-Hird, 18, was swarmed, kicked, beaten and stabbed to death outside of Vinyl nightclub in November 2013.
READ MORE: Bail money seized from family of accused Calgary killer-on-the-run Nathan Gervais
Gervais was supposed to be under 24-hour house arrest while awaiting trial, but he took off just one week before jury selection.
Police said he wasn’t at his home when officers checked up on him on April 16, 2016.
Chishom said he can’t release many other details as the case is now once again before the courts.
He praised his detectives for their tireless work and said this should be a warning to other criminals.
“Let this serve as notice to those who are out on bail and flee,” Chisholm said.
READ MORE: Lukas Strasser-Hird family clings to memories of murdered teen
CPS also confirmed they will be investigating if anyone helped Gervais leave Canada and evade capture for so long.
“We can’t say that he was aided by someone at this time,” Chisholm said.
Strasser-Hird’s father told Global News he wants charges to be laid against anyone who helped Gervais.
“Whoever helped him is hopefully going to get prosecuted here,” Dale Hird said on Monday. “If they don’t, it’s almost saying it’s OK to help someone do that.”
Hird said none of this would have been an issue had Gervais not been granted bail before the trial.
“The decision to let him out on bail cost 20 months of full-time work for the Calgary police and that’s just ridiculous,” Hird said.
READ MORE: Father of Calgary murder victim wants charges against anyone who helped accused killer evade capture
In June 2016, a jury found Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera guilty of second-degree murder in the case. Joch Pouk was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Police said he was brought back to the city on Thursday night where he saw a justice of the peace.
“Gervais had a bail hearing in Calgary last night where he was denied bail,” Chisholm said.
Gervais was scheduled to appear in court on Friday. The cause has been put over for one week.
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