Jun 22, 2014 3 min read

MONTREAL – A heavily armed SWAT team raided an upscale Montreal condominium early Sunday to capture the three men police say made a bold escape by helicopter from a Quebec jail two weeks ago.

The men, who were facing murder and gangsterism charges before the jailbreak, were found in a posh 10th-floor condo with a stunning view of the city in a ritzy new development in Old Montreal, just steps from the historic waterfront.

Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49, were arrested after police busted open the door to enter the residence around 1:30 a.m., Quebec provincial police said. They are due in court in Quebec City today to face fresh charges, but police did not spell out what the new accusations would be.

Police did not divulge details about what led them to the condo. The three men were originally arrested as part of Operation Crayfish in 2010, which dismantled a network of drug traffickers.

On June 7, police said a helicopter plucked the three men from a courtyard of the Orsainville Detention Centre in suburban Quebec City, triggering an international manhunt.

Interpol placed them on its list of the world’s most wanted fugitives.

The Quebec government ordered an internal investigation into the jailbreak.

Questions were raised about a decision by Quebec Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne who was asked to rule on a request by the three men to loosen the strict security conditions under which they were being held. The inmates had argued that the security conditions impeded preparations for their defense in court.

The judge’s decision, which was dated March 24 and took effect shortly before the escape, was only recently made public. In his ruling, the judge gave the detainees access to a secured computer for their trial preparation. The ruling also stated they didn’t have to wear handcuffs during proceedings and would be allowed to go into the prison yard on weekday evenings, prison staff permitting.

Quebec Public Security Minister Lise Theriault said she doesn’t know why the judge agreed to the request to loosen the security restrictions.

Theriault said Sunday she was “relieved” the men had finally been caught.

“We’ve been saying for two weeks (that) the first priority is to catch the three men, so that’s done,” she said, adding that they will be under heavy security as they await Monday’s court appearance.

The administrative probe will also examine a similar escape last year.

In March 2013, two inmates grabbed onto a rope dropped from a helicopter at the St-Jerome detention center and flew away, but they were quickly recaptured.

No-fly zones have now been imposed over select prisons in Quebec, following a request by the provincial government.