Peter Foster was holed up in a Port Douglas apartment allegedly running a multimillion-betting racket and hatching an escape overseas before his dramatic arrest yesterday.

The serial conman planned to purchase a luxury superyacht to leave Australian waters according to the private investigator who had been tracking his every move.

Ken Gamble from fraud and cybercrime firm IWF Global, who assisted with the New South Wales police operation, said the 57-year-old had set up an office inside an Andrews Close residence and only ventured out to walk his dogs along the stunning Far North beach.

"He was renting a villa and had a big operation set up in the house with screens and monitors," he said.

Peter Foster: Conman arrested in Port Douglas on alleged fraud charges

"His daily routine and morning ritual was walking his dogs and throwing the ball to them.

"He wasn't going out to eat other than walking the dogs."

Mr Gamble's firm had been hired by a client in Asia alleging to have been ripped off by a person calling himself Bill Dawson, who encouraged the Hong Kong-based businessman to invest $1.85 million into his company Sports Predictions.

It is the name Foster is alleged to have been using while living in Port Douglas and to make inquiries about purchasing the Achilles III superyacht moored at the Port Douglas marina, and a multimillion-dollar trophy home at Palm Cove.

"My intelligence was he was in Port Douglas to buy a luxury motor yacht and he was going to flee the country," Mr Gamble said.

MORE NEWS

VOTE NOW: Gold Coast's best florist

Main Beach apartment tower gets green light

Dead in the water: Buyer pulls out of $48m sale

"He was looking at a boat. We believe he was certainly going to take off, that was his plan and he was up here for this reason."

One Port Douglas resident said she would see the career con man, who has spent time behind bars in Australia, Vanuatu and Britain, walking his dogs every day.

"Never knew he was a conman," she posted on Facebook.

"We would see him on the beach every afternoon with his two dogs, carefree having a great time. Saw him yesterday.

"Glad he has been caught."

Mr Gamble's surveillance team found Foster within three days and initially observed him making trips to Palm Cove around three weeks ago.

"He went to Palm Cove to visit a friend and ate out a couple of times, but the last fortnight he was keeping a very low profile other than his daily walks," he said.

"He did post on Facebook last night talking about how he was keen to lose some weight and get really healthy.

"I think he'll be spending some time on a diet now."

Detectives posing as joggers tackled Foster to the ground on Four Mile Beach shortly before 8am on Thursday morning and took him in handcuffs to his Port Douglas rental.

He was blissfully unaware the stroll could be his last for sometime.

Originally published as Flash homes, superyachts and cafes: How Foster spent his time in FNQ