Thai immigration police have arrested two Swedish nationals in Bangkok after authorities said they had fled serious criminal cases and overstayed their permission to remain in Thailand.

The first suspect, name only as Kevin by authorities, was wanted in connection with attempted murder, arson and extortion, while fellow Swede Alex faced allegations involving drugs and receiving stolen property, according to Immigration Bureau officials.

The arrests were announced on 24 August following a request from the Nordic countries' police liaison office and the Royal Thai Police Foreign Affairs Division to trace the two men.

From Koh Samui to a Bangkok condominium

Police said the pair had entered Thailand legally and initially stayed at accommodation on Koh Samui. Investigators later learned that they had moved to a condominium in the Rama 9 area of Bangkok.

Officers waited at the property before identifying themselves and making the arrests.

Checks found that both men had remained in Thailand beyond the period they were permitted to stay. Kevin had overstayed by nine days, while Alex had overstayed by 195 days, police said.

Mobile phones and credit cards were seized and will be handed to Swedish police for further investigation.

Deportation planned after Thai proceedings

Immigration authorities said both men will be deported to Sweden once legal action in Thailand has been completed. The bureau said Thailand would not be a safe haven for transnational criminals.

The operation was directed by Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nutchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau; Pol Maj Gen Chutharet Yingyongdamrongsakul, commander of Immigration Division 6; Pol Maj Gen Phanop Worathanatchakul; and Pol Col Ratchot Chotikhun, deputy commander of the Immigration Bureau Investigation Division.

Picture courtesy of Daily News

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25 August 2026

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I see a couple of beardos with tatoos.

Why is Thailand not screening for these types? Why No criminal background check technology connections? They should be doing it now!

17 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

Why is Thailand not screening for these types? Why No criminal background check technology connections? They should be doing it now!

EU passports. No visa required, no criminal checks carried out.

How do you suggest “these types” should be identified by immigration when they enter Thailand if they are from a visa free country?

13 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

EU passports. No visa required, no criminal checks carried out.

How do you suggest “these types” should be identified by immigration when they enter Thailand if they are from a visa free country?

Recently two Swede criminals entered Thailand. They had a criminal record. Those types!

On the Thailand pass system ... they should ask a question at the bottom if you have a criminal record, similar to America's Esta - and the UK one. If you click NO and then it turns out you lied, it should be automatic criminal offense.

Edited August 25Aug 25 by DonniePeverley

2 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

On the Thailand pass system ... they should ask a question at the bottom if you have a criminal record. If you click NO and then it turns out you lied, it should be automatic punishment.

What is the Thailand pass system ?

36 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

How do you suggest “these types” should be identified by immigration when they enter Thailand if they are from a visa free country?

It needs to be easier for law enforcement from countries all around the world to get international arrest warrants with Interpol, whether or not the offender may still be inside their own country, and the data matching of fingerprints and facial needs to be done in a more timely fashion.

If I can transfer money from my home country to Thailand, though Wise, and it's here in seconds, then why can't fingerprints at the Thai airports / borders be the same, as the officer processes your passport.

Wanted criminals would stop coming here, and the ones that are already here could be apprehended and they could clean the place up.

Also, Thailand can be more proactive. Rather than waiting for law enforcement from another country to tell Thai police an offender is in Thailand, can you locate him, they could scan Interpol for new arrest warrants on a weekly basis which may match up with an entry to Thailand, either recently, or some time ago, and they can go and arrest the guy.

At the moment, Thailand is gaining a reputation as being a haven for wanted criminals from all over the world.

50 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

Recently two Swede criminals entered Thailand. They had a criminal record. Those types!

You don’t seem to have suggested how immigration would identify them at the time they entered Thailand. So you haven’t answered my question or added anything to the conversation.

2 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

You don’t seem to have suggested how immigration would identify them at the time they entered Thailand. So you haven’t answered my question or added anything to the conversation.

I don't need to answer...but Thailand immigration needs to. I said in my earlier comment...."surely the technology exists". I'm an engineer not a border security expert

25 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It needs to be easier for law enforcement from countries all around the world to get international arrest warrants with Interpol, whether or not the offender may still be inside their own country, and the data matching of fingerprints and facial needs to be done in a more timely fashion.

If I can transfer money from my home country to Thailand, though Wise, and it's here in seconds, then why can't fingerprints at the Thai airports / borders be the same, as the officer processes your passport.

Wanted criminals would stop coming here, and the ones that are already here could be apprehended and they could clean the place up.

Also, Thailand can be more proactive. Rather than waiting for law enforcement from another country to tell Thai police an offender is in Thailand, can you locate him, they could scan Interpol for new arrest warrants on a weekly basis which may match up with an entry to Thailand, either recently, or some time ago, and they can go and arrest the guy.

At the moment, Thailand is gaining a reputation as being a haven for wanted criminals from all over the world.

Some countries scan the flight manifest to check the passenger identity. This shouldn't be rocket science for Thailand immigration

19 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It needs to be easier for law enforcement from countries all around the world to get international arrest warrants with Interpol, whether or not the offender may still be inside their own country, and the data matching of fingerprints and facial needs to be done in a more timely fashion.

If I can transfer money from my home country to Thailand, though Wise, and it's here in seconds, then why can't fingerprints at the Thai airports / borders be the same, as the officer processes your passport.

Wanted criminals would stop coming here, and the ones that are already here could be apprehended and they could clean the place up.

Also, Thailand can be more proactive. Rather than waiting for law enforcement from another country to tell Thai police an offender is in Thailand, can you locate him, they could scan Interpol for new arrest warrants on a weekly basis which may match up with an entry to Thailand, either recently, or some time ago, and they can go and arrest the guy.

At the moment, Thailand is gaining a reputation as being a haven for wanted criminals from all over the world.

There is nothing that suggests these two had an Interpol red notice issued on them.

If Sweden wanted to notify Interpol, they could have done so. I don’t know why they didn’t, but it’s not reported that they did. Perhaps it was easier/quicker for the Swedish authorities to simply communicate direct with the Thai police?

If they did have an Interpol notice issued on them, then yes, it would be good if an instant check at the point of entry to Thailand, cross referenced against outstanding Interpol red notices. Slightly more efficient than carrying out a weekly comparison, or whatever method the police currently use.

There is also the slightly inconvenient question of why the Swedish authorities allowed them to leave Sweden.

Transferring money using Wise is a completely different process. I don’t see the connection to this case.

Perhaps a legitimate question is why Thailand does not have a system that identifies long term visa overstays. All of the information required to identify those individuals is contained on immigration databases, but is seemingly not used for that purpose.

Edited August 25Aug 25 by wensiensheng

2 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

Some countries scan the flight manifest to check the passenger identity. This shouldn't be rocket science for Thailand immigration

That's a step in the right direction, but doesn't get around passports that give a new identity to someone, only fingerprints and facial can address that issue, or, if the crime has just been committed and the offender heads straight to the airport, heading for Thailand.

51 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

On the Thailand pass system ... they should ask a question at the bottom if you have a criminal record, similar to America's Esta - and the UK one. If you click NO and then it turns out you lied, it should be automatic criminal offense.

And then what?

Click no and it gets you into Thailand whether you have a criminal record or not. So what have you achieved?

18 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

There is nothing that suggests these two had an Interpol red notice issued on them.

Sure, sometimes police departments collaborate without Interpol, but the Thai police didn't just "guess" they were wanted in Sweden.

"Thai immigration police have arrested two Swedish nationals in Bangkok after authorities said they had fled serious criminal cases"

20 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

If Sweden wanted to notify Interpol, they could have done so. I don’t know why they didn’t, but it’s not reported that they did. Perhaps it was easier/quicker for the Swedish authorities to simply communicate direct with the Thai police?

Yes, which is pretty much what I said in my post. It needs to be easier, and quicker, to get international arrest warrants. If it was, these guys may have been caught at the border, or not come to Thailand at all.

24 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

If they did have an Interpol notice issued on them, then yes, it would be good if an instant check at the point of entry to Thailand, cross referenced against outstanding Interpol red notices. Slightly more efficient than carrying out a weekly comparison, or whatever method the police currently use.

So, you agree with my post.

24 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

There is also the slightly inconvenient question of why the Swedish authorities allowed them to leave Sweden.

They could have committed the crime and headed straight to the airport before being identified, or, have fake passports and the fingerprints cross referenced their new identity.

25 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Transferring money using Wise is a completely different process. I don’t see the connection to this case.

Fingerprints are turned into data and stored. That machine is a scanner, not a camera, or an ink pad. That data can travel just as fast at the data needed for a money transfer. It's nano seconds.

27 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Perhaps a legitimate question is why Thailand does not have a system that identifies long term visa overstays. All of the information required to identify those individuals is contained on immigration databases, but is seemingly not used for that purpose.

They do have this technology, but there's that many overstayers they don't have the resources to round them all up. It's not just the man power, it's the detention centers etc.

Off topic racist troll posts removed from the normal candidates

2 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

Why is Thailand not screening for these types? Why No criminal background check technology connections? They should be doing it now!

I could be wrong, but unless they're on an Interpol Red List, the fact Sweden wants them probably doesn't get picked up by Imm. Afterall, they'd have to be screening every foreigner from every country upon arrival.

2 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

There is also the slightly inconvenient question of why the Swedish authorities allowed them to leave Sweden.

Free travel within Shengen.

Usually people are complaining the police or immigration officers are slow in arresting overstayers and deporting them

Looks like that perception is changing for the better

2 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

Free travel within Shengen.

If they went to a 3rd party Schengen area first, then yes, very relevant.

Although, at some point they had to exit the Schengen area and pass out through immigration. If Sweden had requested a red notice be issued, maybe they would have been caught exiting Schengen.

There’s no mention they came to thailand direct from Sweden or via a 3rd party country, but either way, on the basis of facts in the report, one might conclude Sweden was a bit slow out of the blocks. Of course, one of these guys has been outside Sweden for nearly nine months because his overstay is nearly six months. So maybe Sweden only just attributed crimes to him and are playing catch up on his whereabouts.

Point being, maybe this time there was no reason why immigration should not let these two into the country, despite the information that Sweden had about them. It’s not reported that the Swedish authorities had communicated that to anyone, other than recently.

The overstay is different. Thailand should have a system to apprehend those who overstay, without there being a need for some other offence to first be committed.

5 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

Sure, sometimes police departments collaborate without Interpol, but the Thai police didn't just "guess" they were wanted in Sweden.

"Thai immigration police have arrested two Swedish nationals in Bangkok after authorities said they had fled serious criminal cases"

Yes, which is pretty much what I said in my post. It needs to be easier, and quicker, to get international arrest warrants. If it was, these guys may have been caught at the border, or not come to Thailand at all.

So, you agree with my post.

They could have committed the crime and headed straight to the airport before being identified, or, have fake passports and the fingerprints cross referenced their new identity.

Fingerprints are turned into data and stored. That machine is a scanner, not a camera, or an ink pad. That data can travel just as fast at the data needed for a money transfer. It's nano seconds.

They do have this technology, but there's that many overstayers they don't have the resources to round them all up. It's not just the man power, it's the detention centers etc.

If there is as many as you indicate there is, surely that means it’s a very big problem warrenting the allocation of resources to deal with it.

I know the Thai police didn’t guess that the two were in Thailand. I read the paragraph that you highlighted in bold. Hence I said that the Swedish police must have contacted the Thai police direct.

I DO agree with your post in so far as immigration should be able to identify people who try to enter Thailand while there is a red notice out for them.

The point I was making is that there does not appear to have been a red notice issued in this case for either individual, therefore immigration could not be expected to identify them on date of entry. So I disagree with you that a system such as you suggest, would have been any help at all in respect of these two individuals

Edited August 25Aug 25 by wensiensheng

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

If there is as many as you indicate there is, surely that means it’s a very big problem warrenting the allocation of resources to deal with it.

I think you are assuming most overstayers are criminals. Sure, many of them are, but what about all the old guys running around in the villages in Issan? Why would you throw resources at rounding them up? They haven't got 2 baht to their name, so they would have to be housed, and their home country isn't going to buy an air ticket for them. More expense than it's worth for Thailand.

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

I know the Thai police didn’t guess that the two were in Thailand. I read the paragraph that you highlighted in bold. Hence I said that the Swedish police must have contacted the Thai police direct.

Yes, but it would be great if it wasn't so difficult to do the same with Interpol?

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

I DO agree with your post in so far as immigration should be able to identify people who try to enter Thailand while there is a red notice out for them.

They do identify them, but I would like to see them identified at the airports / borders, in real time, which would be a great deterrent for them coming here in the first place.

No all of these criminal have committed a crime and head straight to Thailand before being identified.

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

The point I was making is that there does not appear to have been a red notice issued in this case for either individual, therefore immigration could not be expected to identify them on date of entry. So I disagree with you that a system such as you suggest, would have been any help at all in respect of these two individuals

I understand your point. My point is, in the era of fiber optic gigabyte internet speed, powerful computing, and now AI, the Interpol system should be better than what it is.

3 hours ago, shackleton said:

Usually people are complaining the police or immigration officers are slow in arresting overstayers and deporting them

Looks like that perception is changing for the better

As in this case, the overstayers are criminals, and it's most likely Sweden police looking at their bank withdrawals, and phone calls to their friends and family back home, which lead them to ask for the assistance of Thai police, who then found them quite quickly.

9 hours ago, John Drake said:

I see a couple of beardos with tatoos.

And your point is. 🤷🏼

8 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

Recently two Swede criminals entered Thailand. They had a criminal record. Those types!

They had a criminal record in Sweden not Thailand. 🙈 Do you expect the Thai authority to have records of every criminal that enters Thailand. 😤

19 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

They had a criminal record in Sweden not Thailand. 🙈 Do you expect the Thai authority to have records of every criminal that enters Thailand. 😤

Yes. Obviously. Why not? You seem angry at this thought...any particular reason?

"How Thailand Screens Passengers in Advance

• Pre-Boarding Checks: Airlines are legally required to send passenger details and flight manifests to the Thai Immigration Bureau before departure. [1, 2]

• Database Matching: The system cross-references traveler passport data against blacklists, outstanding arrest warrants, and Interpol alerts. If a match occurs, the system can block the passenger from boarding the plane at their origin airport. [1, 2, 3]

• Digital Arrivals: Travelers also submit digital entry information via systems like the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) to help authorities track and pre-screen visitors. [1, 2]"

Edited August 25Aug 25 by 1happykamper

35 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

Yes. Obviously. Why not?

How do you propose it possible Thai police have access to Swedish citizen's criminal histories?

36 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

"How Thailand Screens Passengers in Advance

• Pre-Boarding Checks: Airlines are legally required to send passenger details and flight manifests to the Thai Immigration Bureau before departure. [1, 2]

• Database Matching: The system cross-references traveler passport data against blacklists, outstanding arrest warrants, and Interpol alerts. If a match occurs, the system can block the passenger from boarding the plane at their origin airport. [1, 2, 3]

• Digital Arrivals: Travelers also submit digital entry information via systems like the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) to help authorities track and pre-screen visitors. [1, 2]"

All of this is against Thai data bases, not Sweden's, except for an Interpol check.

Edited August 25Aug 25 by KhunHeineken

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

I think you are assuming most overstayers are criminals. Sure, many of them are, but what about all the old guys running around in the villages in Issan? Why would you throw resources at rounding them up? They haven't got 2 baht to their name, so they would have to be housed, and their home country isn't going to buy an air ticket for them. More expense than it's worth for Thailand.

Yes, but it would be great if it wasn't so difficult to do the same with Interpol?

They do identify them, but I would like to see them identified at the airports / borders, in real time, which would be a great deterrent for them coming here in the first place.

No all of these criminal have committed a crime and head straight to Thailand before being identified.

I understand your point. My point is, in the era of fiber optic gigabyte internet speed, powerful computing, and now AI, the Interpol system should be better than what it is.

Is not overstaying in and of itself a criminal offence?

And after a clean sweep of all overstayers from bygone days, would it not simply be a question of staying on top of new arrivals?

Off topic troll post removed @DonniePeverley

21 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

Recently two Swede criminals entered Thailand. They had a criminal record. Those types!

As mentioned, how is Thai immigration to know in advance they have criminal records in Sweden. They come in Visa Exempt and such details are likely controlled or restricted.