Polish overstayer wanted by Interpol arrested in Koh Samui, Thailand

Yesterday, Immigration Police arrested a Polish man in Koh Samui, southern Thailand, wanted on an Interpol red notice for assault and illegal possession of firearms.

He had overstayed his student visa by 36 days, which was cancelled by immigration on November 3 because he didn’t attend classes.

Surat Thani Immigration Police were patrolling the island in their Smart Control Cars, which use facial recognition technology when they spotted a suspicious-looking foreigner in a Big C car park.

Upon inspection of his passport, police found that 37 year old Michael Karim Wielebinski’s name was included in their list of foreigners whose permission to stay in the kingdom had been revoked.

Wielebinski entered Thailand from Malaysia via the Tak Bai Immigration Checkpoint in Narathiwat province on October 10, 2019, with a non-immigrant (NON-90) visa.

On January 7, 2020, Chiang Rai Immigration Office granted Wielebinskia a student visa valid until September 24, 2023. However, because Wielebinski stopped attending his language course at Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Immigration cancelled his visa, effective November 3, 2022.

In 2017, Wielebinski was accused of assault and illegal possession of firearms in Poland. He did not attend court so Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest on October 15, 2017.

Surat Thani Immigration Police arrested Wielebinski under suspicion of, “being an alien whose permission to stay in the kingdom has expired (36 days),” violating the Immigration Act of 1979.

Police took Wielebinski to Koh Samui’s Bo Phut Police Station for further interrogation.

Immigration is nearing the end of its nationwide crackdown on illegal foreigners and visa overstayers in Thailand, cracking numerous cases…

On Tuesday, a British man was arrested in Srisaket province in northeast Thailand for overstaying his visa by 75 days. He said he only stayed because he loves Thailand so much, but immigration banned him from entering the kingdom for five years.

A Chinese man was arrested in Bangkok after overstaying his visa for an impressive seven years. He said he stayed because he feared religious persecution in China.

A Korean woman who was arrested in Bangkok for stealing a car, bag and watch valued at 5 million baht was found to have overstayed her visa in Thailand by six years.

Earlier this week, police arrested a Kuwaiti man in Koh Pha Ngan who overstayed his visa by 16 days.

Police have arrested several visa overstayers illegally living the island life on Koh Samui.