Convicted criminal Steven Johnson had been wanted since January 2014 after breaching the terms of his parole.
Police believe the 40-year-old went to Spain, where he posted Facebook and Twitter messages challenging officers to find him.
He was arrested in Whiston, Merseyside, on Thursday and returned to jail.
Read updates on this story and more from across Merseyside and Cheshire.
Johnson, of Prescot, was serving a sentence of six years and 11 months for possession with intent to supply class A drugs, before being released on licence.
During his time on the run, he used aliases on social media sites to post messages and photographs, including several of himself posing in front of luxury cars.
In one message, he wrote: "Just got out of bed. Going for a massage."
Merseyside Police said Johnson had now "got his wish".
Sgt Mark Worrall said: "The arrest of Johnson shows that we never give up.
"Johnson has been wanted on recall to prison for two years and he has obviously been living the high life abroad, but that has been cut short and he's now back behind bars."

The child was critically injured in the incident and later died in hospital.
The freak accident happened at 15:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Friday.
The Sun Dial restaurant, where the incident took place, has reportedly been closed until further notice.
According to a statement from Atlanta police, the restaurant's revolving floor automatically stopped moving when the child became stuck on Friday.
Employees managed to dislodge the boy, who suffered crushing injuries to his head and brain, according to a report by the Fulton county medical examiner.
"The kid was just wandering as kids will do. Somehow he found himself in a critical situation where he's lodged in between the rotating floor and the wall," police spokesman Warren Pickard told reporters on Saturday.
The boy's death has been ruled accidental.
The restaurant is located at the top of the Westin Hotel, an Atlanta attraction that offers a 360-degree view of the city.
A man wanted on recall to prison who taunted police with social media posts telling them "catch me if you can" is back behind bars.
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A five-year-old boy has died after his head got lodged between a wall and a table fixed to a slow-moving floor of a restaurant in Atlanta, police officials said.