PUBLISHED : 18 Aug 2023 at 04:00
Police have arrested an Australian man wanted in his home country on drugs and weapons charges, who was staying in Phuket on a Thai student visa.
Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat Sajjapan, Immigration Bureau (IB) commissioner, said during a press briefing yesterday that Robert Wainwright had been sent to Phuket Immigration Office after his arrest in tambon Rawai of Muang district of Phuket.
Mr Wainwright was reportedly staying in Phuket with student status through a language school with his Australian girlfriend.
Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat said Mr Wainwright’s girlfriend handled his affairs to avoid suspicion.
Immigration police arrested Mr Wainwright and his girlfriend while leaving a villa in Phuket on Aug 10.
Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat said the Royal Thai Police had been informed of Mr Wainwright’s presence by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which is targeting a drug-trafficking syndicate of which Mr Wainwright is suspected of being a member.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Provincial Police Region 5 and US Ambassador to Thailand Robert F Godec visited the Mekong River in Chiang Rai opposite the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Mr Godec and the US Consul General in Chiang Mai, Lisa A Buzenas, were accompanied by Pol Lt Gen Piya Tawichai to survey the Mekong River border areas between Thailand and Laos in Chiang Saen district.
The US officials and the local police discussed issues on the prevention and suppression of transborder cybercrimes and drug and human trafficking.
The ambassador said that Thailand and the US have worked together on security and law enforcement for decades, with many training programmes.
Mr Godec also stated that the US is ready to join forces with Thailand to tackle challenges in the Mekong River area, with a focus on transnational crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering and call-centre scams.