Police catch two of ‘WA’s most elusive criminals’ after spending years on the run on return to prison warrants

Two of the criminals dubbed WA’s most elusive fugitives have been caught and hauled back into a prison cell. In September, The West Australian revealed WA Police’s hitlist of 19 most wanted parolees who have flouted the conditions of their release before going on the run. One of them was Michael Andrew Abela, who was on parole for stealing a car but had been AWOL since 2008. Abela was arrested by South Australian police last month on unrelated matters. He was then extradited back to WA on October 25 where he was returned to prison to serve out the rest of his sentence. Records show he is currently in Hakea prison, and is also facing a charge of driving without a licence. Meanwhile, it emerged in State Parliament that Candice Dianne Allen was apprehended at Perth Airport six days after her photograph was published on the front page. She was on parole for offering to sell or supply a prohibited drug and had been subject to an outstanding return to prison warrant for three years. Other convicted criminals still wanted as part of Operation Conroy include drug trafficker Ardil Khan, 28, who was jailed for six years in 2020 for his role in a multimillion-dollar drug syndicate operating out of WA in 2017. Ardil is the brother of Yusuf Khan, the owner of collapsed The Library Nightclub and linked to failed builder Modco Residential. Convicted rapist Kiernan Donnelly is also in the crosshairs. Donnelly dragged a woman from a Bunbury oval and attacked her in nearby bushes in 2007. Police are also hunting Christopher Joseph Talovic, 39, who rammed a police car after leading officers on a wild chase in Ravensthorpe with his four-year-old daughter in the front passenger seat. Det-Sgt Andy Coen of the rapid apprehension squad has previously said his officers had a “suite of powers” at its disposal and will “never give up”. “We have the intent, the ability and the resources to pursue these matters until they are resolved and that is our intention,” he said. “If you commit crimes in Western Australia against the Western Australian community, the WA Police Force will always seek to hold you accountable — no matter where you are in the world.”