A 53-year-old alleged ringleader of oil smuggling operations in the southern region was arrested in Bangkok on a charge of colluding to launder money, police said.
The Thursday arrest of Sahachai Jiansermsin, better known as "Joe Pattani", was announced at the Crime Suppression Division by Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob Bhuridet.
Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob said the suspect was nabbed in the Huai Kwang area after the Songkhla Provincial Court approved a warrant for his arrest in February this year for conspiring to launder money.
Sahachai initially denied the charge during questioning, he said.
"The money laundering charge was related to a 2012 oil smuggling case in which police had seized more than 2,000 litres of oil and 48-million-baht in cash in Songkhla," said Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob.
Sahachai was arrested after an extended investigation and police confiscated documents related to the sale of more than 400 million litres of oil from his house.
He was initially charged with oil smuggling and the case is pending the prosecutors' review, said the CIB chief.
Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob said the money laundering case was prompted by the Economic Crime Division's investigation which considered oil smuggling an offence under the anti-money laundering law.
The CIB chief said Sahachai has had other runs-in with the law including being arrested on a charge of falsifying official documents in 2014 in what was believed to be linked to the smuggling of timber.
Sahachai was sentenced to one year and nine months by a court, but he escaped while detention and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He said police have been looking for Sahachai due to his alleged links to a wide range of illegal activities.
A working panel will be set up to review oil smuggling cases to determine money laundering charges against those involved, said Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob.
A source said Sahachai was detained at a noodle shop and reportedly told the arresting officer that he knew high-ranking police officers including the CIB chief who would get him out of trouble.
However, Sahachai did not recognise Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob when he sat in on the questioning, according to the source.
According to the source, Sahachai has been arrested in more than 10 cases since 2003. The source added that the charges in several of those cases were dropped or dismissed.