SURAT THANI: A 60-year-old Swedish man wanted on drug charges in Bangkok has been arrested on Koh Samui after two years on the run.
Immigration police arrested Reino Pentti Olavi Martin at a car park in front of a rented house in tambon Bo Phut on the southern tourist island on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Martin, 60, was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Bangkok South Criminal Court on Feb 25, 2021 for illegal possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell.
He had been apprehended in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok in 2020 and was released on bail. However, he jumped bail, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Pol Col Suparuek Phankosol, chief of Surat Thani immigration police, said the arrest came after officers learned from the Immigration Bureau’s alert system that the Swedish national was wanted in Bangkok.
The record also showed that his visa had expired on Dec 22, 2021. Officers began tracking his movements — he was active on Facebook — and determined the suspect had been staying on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui since his visa expired. When they caught up with him, they initially charged him with overstaying his visa.
He was sent to the Bo Phut police station to answer the visa charge before being handed over to the Bangkok South Criminal Court to deal with the drug offence.