A bank robber once considered Australia’s most wanted man has been found hours after he sparked an urgent manhunt by allegedly cutting off his electronic monitoring device.
Western Australia Police Police have launched a major search for Brett Maston, 57, who was last seen in Mount Lawley, north of Perth, at 5.50am on Monday.
He spent almost 12 hours on the run before Rapid Apprehension Squad detectives arrested him without incident in Kenwick, in the city’s southeast, on Monday night.
He was transported to Perth Watch House for processing.
“No further information will be available tonight,” a police statement read.
Maston allegedly removed his GPS tracking device less than a week after he was granted bail on home detention.
Brett Maston (pictured) is on the run again after he allegedly cut off his electronic monitoring device, prompting a large-scale police search.
Maston had previously been charged with three counts of stolen property after police found him allegedly carrying a gun, cash and another stolen item in Warwick.
He was granted bail on May 13 and placed under strict house arrest.
His lawyer had told the court that his new partner, who is also under a conditional suspended prison order, would keep him on track, despite Maston’s significant criminal record.
The convicted bank robber, who spent more than a decade behind bars, had escaped police custody on two previous occasions.
The 57-year-old man (pictured) was captured by police on Monday night, having last been seen in Mount Lawley, north of Perth, at 5.50am on Monday.
His most notorious escape from custody came in 1995, when he escaped from Fremantle Hospital with the help of his ex-girlfriend Christine Evagora, after faking a suicide attempt.
Evagora burst into the hospital waiting room brandishing a shotgun and threatened patients and staff.
The dramatic escape led to Maston and Evagora being nicknamed ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, after the infamous American criminal bandits.
Maston became a wanted man and was later arrested before spending 14 and a half years in prison.
He has the words “Australia’s Most Wanted” tattooed on his back.
Convicted bank robber had the words ‘Australia’s Most Wanted’ tattooed on his back (pictured)
After being released from prison in 2008, Maston fled to the Philippines, but was extradited to Western Australia in 2012 to face charges of illegal possession of weapons and cash.
Last year, Maston told Nine News his brushes with the law were behind him.
“My life was destroyed and I know my actions have destroyed other people’s lives,” he said.
“And I’m sincerely sorry.”