Police crack down on foreign fugitives ahead of Apec Summit

Three Chinese nationals and a Taiwanese man wanted in their home countries have been arrested as part of the latest crackdown, the Immigration Bureau disclosed on Thursday at its Muang Thong Thani office in Nonthaburi province.

In the first case, a 35-year-old Chinese man identified only as Li was arrested in Pattaya at the request of Chinese police, according to Immigration Bureau deputy commissioner Pol Maj-General Panthana Nutnart.

The Chinese fugitive, who had bought a condo in Pattaya and led a life of luxury, is wanted in connection with an illegal debt-collecting business involving over 100 million baht in estimated damages, Panthana said at the press conference.

Li would later be handed over to the Chinese police, the officer added.

In the second case, a 40-year-old man identified as Tsai was arrested for entering Thailand illegally. No immigration records were found regarding his entry.

He is wanted by Chinese authorities for illegal production and sale of homemade firearms and bullets, according to Thai immigration police.

The third arrest involved a 36-year-old Chinese man identified only as Dali, who was charged with human trafficking and forced labour.

The man was arrested in Chonburi for alleged involvement in a criminal gang running a call centre scam based in Cambodia, according to Panthana.

In the last case, a 17-year-old man from Taiwan, identified only as Chen, was arrested for illegal entry into Thailand.

The suspect told police he was persuaded by an acquaintance to join a “romance scam” gang in Cambodia but that he feared for his safety after failing to find any victim after three months. So, he decided to sneak into Thailand in late July with the intent to enter Myanmar, police quoted him as saying.

Chen is wanted by Taiwanese police for his alleged involvement in a physical assault in mid-2021 that resulted in one death.

Bangkok is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit, to be attended by leaders of 21 member economies, on November 18 and 19.