Spanish fraud suspect arrested in Phuket Airport following Interpol red notice
Police at Phuket Airport yesterday arrested a Spanish man 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.”
Two years ago, police arrested a 37 year old Dutch national who was allegedly involved in the SPM Shopping Mall website scam, which police suspect is a huge pyramid scheme that defrauded hundreds of people on the island. Police say the man was a Line administrator for the scheme and they are still searching for 40 other suspected Line ‘Admin.’
Wesley Halbach was arrested over the weekend after several Phuket residents filed complaints with police, accusing Wesley of tricking them into making an investment. To read more click HERE.
