A fugitive dubbed the "most wanted woman in the world" after fleeing drug smuggling charges 18 years ago is unlikely to be extradited to Thailand after being located in Dublin, Ireland.
Lisa Marie Smith.
International media revealed last week that Lisa Marie Smith, 38, has been running Hippety's cafe following a run-of-the-mill complaint to local police over a skirmish outside the popular meeting place.
Ms Smith, a dual British-Australian passport holder, fled Thailand in mid-1996 shortly after being released on bail. The Melbourne-born woman was facing charges of attempting to smuggle 4kg of raw opium and more than 500 amphetamine pills out of the country.
In April, the fugitive's boyfriend, Stephen Maguire, was punched to the ground and kicked by a group of around 25 youths outside Hippety's, in the trendy Temple Bar district.
The police investigation and media scrutiny surrounding the case eventually revealed that Ms Smith, still using her real name, had settled in Ireland and was running Hippety's with Mr Maguire.
A check of the cafe's business registration records revealed two joint directors in the company — Mr Maguire and a Terence Smith, believed to be Ms Smith's father who normally goes by the name Terry.
Mr Smith, who at the time of his daughter's arrest time was chief executive of National Mutual Asia insurance company in Hong Kong, now known as AXA China Region, was the one who managed to secure her bail back in 1996, despite the obvious flight risk.
Although Ms Smith’s bail request was rejected by the Criminal Court, it was granted on a bond of 1.5 million baht in August 1996 by the Appeals Court, raising suspicions that a backroom deal was reached.
Irish authorities are aware of Ms Smith's presence in Dublin, but they said it is up to Thailand to decide whether to pursue the drug trafficking charges, despite a "red notice" for the fugitive's arrest being issued by Interpol.
Irish police refused to comment on specifics of the case, but confirmed Irish officials have been in contact with counterparts in Bangkok and London. Ms Smith is not currently being sought for extradition.
If Thailand does not wish to press the matter further, Ms Smith is unlikely to ever be apprehended and would be free to remain in Ireland.
Thai Interpol was unaware of the developments in Ms Smith's case, and was unable to locate any case files related to her arrest.
An Interpol officer also said the statute of limitations on the drug trafficking charges would most likely be 20 years, setting the expiry date in February 2016.
The chances of Ms Smith being returned to Thailand before that time elapses are slim because the Republic of Ireland does not have an extradition treaty with Thailand.
When a reporter for British newspaper The Sun approached Ms Smith last week at the cafe, the fugitive "refused to talk about her past”, instead saying that she had “somewhere to go” before jumping into a car.
Hippety's has reportedly kept its doors closed for the past week.