Dutch suspect arrested in Phuket Airport following Interpol red notice

Police at Phuket Airport yesterday arrested a Dutchman wanted by the Spanish police for a number of fraudulent activities. The arrest took place in the Arrivals Hall of the airport’s International Terminal, around 9.15pm.

Information concerning the arrest was released by the Phuket branch of the Immigration Bureau. However, the bureau refrained from disclosing the suspect’s name or age. There was also no information about the country that the individual had travelled from prior to his arrest.

According to FlightRadar24, between 7pm and 9.05pm, before the arrest, seven international flights arrived from Dubai, Melbourne, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. The exact flight that the suspect was on remains ambiguous.

To preserve the privacy of the suspect, his face in the official photo was pixelated before publication. Another person appeared in that same picture, their face was also concealed. No additional details were shared about the second person.

The suspect is believed to be accountable for multiple fraudulent schemes involving numerous victims, as reported by Spanish authorities. In response, an Interpol ‘red notice’ has been issued, compelling all member states to arrest him and then extradite him to Spain for legal proceedings, The Phuket News reported.

The arrest operation was a collaborative effort, with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Royal Thai Police participating alongside Phuket Immigration. The suspect, post-arrest, was transferred “to the Office of the Attorney General for further legal investigations.”

In a related story, another Dutch man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in February after several Thais and foreigners accused him of conspiring with others to run a shopping mall website scam.

However, the Phuket Provincial Court later dismissed the charges against him and another suspect arrested in March that year. According to the court, the two were also victims of the website scam and there was no evidence that they had profited from the scam.