A fugitive Russian drug suspect has been arrested in Phuket after he used a stolen passport to enter Thailand, an officer at Phuket Immigration Office said.
Anatoly Gural, 30, was taken from his rented house in Soi Khok Yang in tambon Rawai of Muang district for questioning on Monday night after he failed to show his passport to immigration police.
Mr Gural is wanted by Russian authorities on drug-related charges. The Russian embassy asked the Phuket Immigration Office to help track down the suspect, Pol Capt Aungkarn said.
Mr Gural used a passport issued to another Russian man, Safronov Danil, to enter the country on April 1 and was allowed to stay on a non-immigrant O visa until June 29. The suspect had replaced Mr Danil's photograph with his own.
The Russian embassy confirmed Mr Danil is at his home in Russia.
Mr Gural allegedly confessed to drug offences in Russia before fleeing to Thailand after Thai police showed him a copy of his arrest warrant issued by Russian authorities.
Police charged him with counterfeiting a passport and using a fake passport, Pol Capt Aungkarn said.
Russian drug suspect Anatoly Gural, 30, (black T-shirt) at Phuket Immigration Office (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran)