Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
B.C. police have issued an arrest warrant for Naila Sheikh, a former correctional officer in the province who documents appear to indicate was the case manager for a convicted gang murderer at the time of his brazen escape from the Port Coquitlam prison in July 2022.
Sheikh, who formerly worked as a correctional officer at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, has been charged with breach of trust, personation with intent to gain advantage, and unauthorized use of a computer.
Documents obtained by CBC News appear to indicate that Sheikh was directly assigned as a case manager for Rabih Alkhalil, whose escape from the facility on July 21, 2022, is still under investigation.
According to B.C. court documents, the three counts Sheikh faces stem from incidents that occurred between February and March of 2024, but it’s not clear if the charges against her are related to the escape.
Sheikh is accused of a breach of trust related to her duties as a correctional officer in Port Coquitlam, unauthorized use of the corrections system on a province of B.C. computer, and also with impersonating Shamaila Sheikh in or near Victoria for personal gain.
CBC News reached out to Naila Sheikh for comment but did not hear back before publication.
She is the second former B.C. correctional employee to be charged in the last year.
The first, Ramandeep Rai, faced two breach of trust charges that Coquitlam RCMP later clarified were unrelated to the prison break.
On Wednesday, Rai was given a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community for failing to report that an inmate, with whom she was having a romantic relationship, had a cellphone.
RCMP deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald stands next to a wanted poster for Rabih Alkhalil in the days after Alkhalil’s escape from custody. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
3 men charged with prison breach
After a three-year hunt, Alkhalil was arrested in Qatar in September 2025, where he had been living under an alias, Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEUB) confirmed at a news conference last year.
Around the time Alkhalil was arrested, police also charged three men with prison breach and conspiracy to commit prison breach for allegedly posing as contractors to help Alkhalil walk out of the facility.
Those charged included Ryan Van Gool, 46, of Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., Edward Ayoub, 48, of Ottawa and John Potvin, 49, also of Ottawa. Potvin was later arrested in Spain and extradited back to Canada in January 2026.
Acting communications counsel Ann Seymour for the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed the charge was sworn on May 28. She says there have been no court appearances as “there is a warrant outstanding” for Sheikh’s arrest.