KHON KAEN: An Indian man has been arrested at Phuket airport while waiting for an outbound flight for allegedly duping another Indian man in Roi Et out of almost a million baht.
Rajeshwari Mani, 59, was caught while waiting to board a flight to New Delhi late on Friday, according to Immigration Division 4 police in charge of 11 provinces along Laos and Cambodia borders.
The man was on an arrest warrant issued in Roi Et on charges of fraud.
“He allegedly borrowed 800,000 baht from his compatriot to be used in applying for a visa extension as a retiree. The amount is the minimum bank account balance an applicant must maintain for at least two months before his visa expires,” police said.
After receiving the money, he disappeared and couldn’t be contacted, prompting his lender to file a complaint with Kaset Wisai district police in the northeastern province.
Acting on the warrant, police searched his house but could not find him. He was later seen in Buri Ram, Bangkok and Samut Prakan before finally being caught in Phuket, police said.
Pol Maj Gen Nattawat Karndee, chief of the division, said from July 1-12, border immigration police at 20 stations in the Northeast had detained 2,117 Thais and foreigners.
Of the total, 883 were charged with illegal entry, 28 with overstaying and 44 with working without permits. Another 13 were suspects under arrest warrants, 927 more were caught for other offences and 222 were denied entry, he said.