Interpol has issued its equivalent of an international arrest warrant for a British man suspected of killing a Thai bar girl, stuffing her body in a suitcase and dumping it into the Mae Klong river in Kanchanaburi in November last year.
Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen, superintendent of the Foreign Affairs Division's Interpol office, said Interpol issued a "red notice" to international law enforcement agencies alerting them that an arrest warrant has been issued by Provincial Police Region 7 for Shane Kenneth Looker, 45, a British national wanted for the murder of Laksami Manochat, 31.
The Kanchanaburi Provincial Court had authorised the arrest warrant for the Briton on charges of murdering and illegally disposing of the body of Laksami
Tha Muang district police said Mr Looker's DNA, taken from nail clippers in the suspect's home, matches samples collected from Laksami's body.
Police said Mr Looker left Thailand by train on Nov 24 through the Padang Besar border pass in Songkhla to Malaysia.
On Nov 6, Laksami's naked body was found inside a red suitcase along with a shirt, bra, underwear, a pair of jeans, high-heel shoes and an empty wallet. She had sustained severe bruising to her left forehead.
Pol Col Kritsana said police have already contacted Interpol and sought cooperation from 19 countries with which Thailand has extradition treaties, including the United Kingdom, as they seek to track down Mr Looker and have him face trial in Thailand.
CCTV footage from Nov 1 showed Laksami walking out the Nana Plaza entertainment complex on Soi 4 with a Western male, believed to be Mr Looker. The man appeared to be bald and heavy-set, and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts.