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Canadian Press/ Montreal Police Service handout
This file photo provided by the Montreal Police Service shows Luka Rocco Magnotta. Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean say the alleged killer could return to Canada Monday, June 18, 2012
MONTREAL - Accused killer Luka Rocco Magnotta is on a flight headed for Canada, according to the federal Justice Department.
The department said Magnotta was aboard a military transport plane Monday heading to Canada from Berlin, where the 29-year-old was arrested earlier this month.
Amid fevered media reports, there was some confusion about whether the plane had managed to take off but the Canadian government confirmed he had left Germany.
"The plane is en route now," Julie Di Mambro, a spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, wrote in an email.
The Quebec prosecutor's office said Magnotta would likely have to appear in court within 24 hours, in keeping with Article 503 of the Criminal Code.
Magnotta, arrested in a Berlin Internet cafe following an international manhunt, is the prime suspect in last month's grisly killing and dismemberment of Montreal university student Jun Lin.
The male escort and porn actor, originally from Scarborough, Ont., is expected to face numerous criminal charges in Montreal, including first-degree murder.
Nicholson said in a statement that Magnotta is in the custody of Montreal police officers. He thanked German officials for the suspect's swift extradition to Canada.
"It is important that Canadians can have confidence that those who are accused of serious crimes will face the full force of the law," Nicholson said.
"Canada values the co-operation of its international partners in the fight against crime."
Lin's torso was found locked inside a suitcase in an alley outside Magnotta's Montreal apartment building. His hands and feet were mailed separately to the offices of political parties in Ottawa and schools in Vancouver.
DNA tests have confirmed that all the body parts belong to Lin, a Chinese national studying computer science at Concordia University.
The 33-year-old's head has still not been found and police have made its recovery a priority so the family can have some measure of closure.
Police also believe the killer videotaped the Lin's death and posted the footage online
© The Canadian Press, 2013