Indonesian police who arrested fugitive Chaowalit Thongduang have asked Thailand to return the favour by locating and arresting a wanted drug lord believed hiding in the kingdom.
Indinesia's narcotics division chief Pol Brig Gen Mukhi Juharsa said on Sunday that Indonesian National Police (Polri) wanted Fredy Pratama in exchange for the extradition of Chaowalit, alias Paeng Nanode, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported.
"There's a favour, there's a return. We ask Thailand to also capture Fredy," the news agency on Monday quoted him as saying in a statement issued on Sunday.
On Sunday, Polri said on its X account that the request had been submitted to the Royal Thai Police Office. The Indonesian fugitive is reportedly hiding in forest in Thailand, it said.
The Indonesian drug kingpin allegedly runs a syndicate linked to gangs in other Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand and Malaysia.
The drug ring trafficks in methamphetamine pills from the Golden Triangle, according to Indonesian police. (continues below)
The picture of Fredy Pratama on the Interpol website. The drug ring leader is on the wanted list of Indonesian police. (Photo: Interpol website)
Indonesia, Malaysian and Thai authorities busted the gang in September last year and arrested 39 people in a three-nation operation, but Fredy is still on the run.
Wahyu Widada, chief of the Indonesian national police criminal investigation department, said in September that Fredy's network had since 2020 amassed more than 10.5 trillion rupiah (about 24 billion baht) in assets including real estate, according to Reuters.
Chaowalit was to be extradited from Indonesia to Nakhon Si Thammarat on Tuesday this week, according to the Indonesian narcotics division chief.
