Alleged contract killer Matthew Dupre, wanted for the shooting of a Canadian gangster in Phuket on Feb 4, 2022, has been extradited to Thailand to face a murder charge.
He was brought back by a team of Crime Suppression Division (CSD) special weapons and tactics officers and members of an air force special operations unit on a special flight from Vancouver, Canada.
The flight, with Mr Dupre on board, landed at Don Mueang Airport's Wing 6 terminal on Sunday night around 11pm. The airport was under tight security and was temporarily closed. The flight was met by about 30 other members of the Hanuman unit and air force ground security.
From the airport, he was taken by motorcade to CSD headquarters. His detention is now under the supervision of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). Mr Dupre has denied all allegations made against him, a source said.
He was transferred from the CSD on Monday afternoon to the Bangkok Remand Prison.
The suspect was guarded by the CSD's Hanuman special weapons and tactics unit as he was considered a dangerous suspect and a member of an important international criminal network.
National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas held a press conference at the CSD about the extradition.
According to Pol Gen Damrongsak, Mr Dupre is a retired soldier who had spent time in Afghanistan and had worked in the security industry in Middle Eastern countries.
On Feb 4, 2022, Jimi Sandhu, a Canadian mobster, was found dead in the parking lot of a beachfront villa resort on Rawai Beach in Phuket's Muang district. Sandhu's body had been riddled with bullets, and 21 casings were found at the scene.
Two foreign shooters were captured entering the villa by a security camera; one of them was identified as Mr Dupre.
The second suspect in the case, Gene Lahrkamp, 36, died in a plane crash in Canada in May 2022 with a man who was reportedly involved with the Independent Soldiers, an organized crime group based in British Columbia.
Pol Gen Damrongsak said Mr Dupre was a prime suspect along with Lahrkamp, as the Red Scorpions, a crime network they belonged to, had a conflict with the network that Sandhu belonged to.
On Feb 11, 2022, the Phuket Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Dupre and his alleged accomplice on charges of premeditated murder, having guns and ammunition in possession without permission, and illegally carrying and using the guns in public.
Police later found the two suspects had left Thailand for Canada on Feb 6.