Indonesia deports ‘most wanted’ Thai fugitive

Chaowalit Thongduang (C), one of Thailand’s “most wanted” fugitives who was on the run after escaping Thai custody and fleeing to Indonesia last year, is escorted at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency office in Jakarta on June 4, 2024, following his arrest on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on May 30. Chaowalit, also known by the moniker “Pang Na Node”, was wanted in Thailand on multiple charges including murder and drug-related offenses. Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA — Indonesia deported one of Thailand’s “most wanted” fugitives on Tuesday to face murder and drugs charges in his home country, a police official said, after he escaped custody last year.

Chaowalit Thongduang, a 37-year-old also known by the moniker “Pang Na Node”, was arrested by police on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last week.

He was escorted to the capital Jakarta’s international airport under guard by ten police officers, national police official Krishna Murti said in a statement Tuesday.

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The fugitive was then deported on a “special plane provided by the Thai govt,” Krishna added in a WhatsApp message to AFP.

Thai narcotics control authorities say Chaowalit is wanted on multiple charges including murder and drug-related offenses.

Chaowalit entered the westernmost Indonesian province of Aceh in December 2023 after a 17-hour journey by a speed boat from Thailand before traveling to Bali, according to Indonesian police.

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He had escaped from a hospital in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province where he was receiving medical treatment while serving a 20-year sentence.

In December, the Bangkok Post reported that he had been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in an attempted murder case dating back to 2019.

Hundreds of police officers were mobilized to recapture him, in an operation reported to have cost around 10 million baht ($273,654).

The head of Indonesia’s criminal investigation agency, Wahyu Widada, said police seized several pieces of evidence during Chaowalit’s arrest, including a fake identity card and birth certificate under the name of Sulaiman, which he was allegedly using.