Belgian 'Most Wanted' Arrested In Phuket

[sunshine51]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

THE FUCHSIA FUGITIVE

I also agree with lucidlucifer...glad the BIB got him.

Anybody who would run around in a fuchsia button down

shirt with either red & white striped pants or shorts on

needs to be arrested. Or else sold to a circus.

[Tanuki]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

They love wearing the ski masks eh even in this heat doesn't matter if they are undercover cops or gardeners.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Tanuki

[Tanuki]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

i don't see anyone wearing a t-shirt.

[stevehaigh]

Belgian 'most wanted' arrested in Phuket

The Nation

Nation Photo

BANGKOK: -- Crime Suppression police and the Belgian Embassy on Tuesday announced the arrest of Belgian criminal gang leader suspect Marc De Schutter in Phuket's Muang district.

The 57-year-old fugitive was nabbed in front of a Tambon Rawai house on Monday along with two computer notebooks, a cell phone, and three document files, after the embassy asked Thai police to arrest him. De Schutter is claiming innocence.

He was arrest at a luxurious home in a lane off Saiyuen Road, Rawai, where he reportedly had been living for 17 months with a 24-year-old Thai wife.

Belgium’s fifth most wanted man, he is allegedly involved in major criminal cases in Belgium including thefts, fraud, murder of his own wife, drug smuggling, trafficking of illegal items (oil, cigarettes and war weapon) and money laundering. He allegedly had connections with criminal syndicates in Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Ireland and Armenia.

An investigation by the Belgian authorities found De Schutter fled to Phuket over a year ago and sometimes went on business trips to Singapore. They requested Thai police arrest him for extradition to Belgium.

-- The Nation 2012-07-31

i think they spotted the shirt from space

[LivinginKata]

Time to weed out the off topic posts.

[TwoDogz]

They leave them in jail in their original clothes for some time don't they ?

[TwoDogz]

Glad the pattaya bashing brigade will not be saying that he was hiding out in pattaya

He probably visited more often than not.

[mancub]

If you want to escape the law, come to miracle Thailand! Should be a TAT slogan!

Apparently not, there have been quite a few of these arrests lately.

Strange though , that these types are able to live in Thailand ,quite ostentatiously and often for long periods , until Foreign authories request their arrest! It's not as if the Thai authorities are actively and independently rooting out these criminals , which is why so many find these parts so accomodating !

[sirchai]

Belgium’s fifth most wanted man, he is allegedly involved in major criminal cases in Belgium including thefts, fraud, murder of his own wife, drug smuggling, trafficking of illegal items (oil, cigarettes and war weapon) and money laundering. He allegedly had connections with criminal syndicates in Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Ireland and Armenia.

Smuggled cigarettes from Cosa Nostra to IRA? Tough guy.

Belgian 'most wanted' arrested in Phuket.

Most wanted? Fifth wanted? Tenth wanted. <deleted> cares? Get the shitty Mr. T....

Edited July 31, 2012 by sirchai

[maapaa]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

Sorry to be too pedantic ... I can see only 1 "T-shirt": The police officer on the right is wearing a white one ... the man from Belgium is wearing a shirt ... ;-)

[maapaa]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

i don't see anyone wearing a t-shirt.

Then tell me what the police officer on the right side is wearing under his shirt ... take a close look - you will see the white "T-shirt".

[Unkomoncents]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

Thailand is a haven for fugitives and scumbags of all stripes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/world/asia/21iht-thailand21.html

[Unkomoncents]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

Apparently it's easy to "disappear" in Europe from where so many of these "most wanted" types seem to have no problem eluding police or passing undetected through immigrations. On the other hand, given the number who are eventually arrested here, it seems the Thai police are better able to "undisappear" them.

Are you talking about Albania or Germany?

[Unkomoncents]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

It is pretty easy for criminals to 'disappear' in any country. The UK has 1000s of foreign criminals on the run. Neither the police or immigration have any idea where they are.

Yep and I'm sure everything else negative about Thailand "is the same as everywhere else too blah blah blah...". Remember the Iranian terror incident a few months ago, when a bunch of TV experts waxed prophetic about how "there were no terrorists in Thailand" and America should just mind its own business. Apparently, it's also really easy to be delusional in Thailand as well. I just met a guy the other day who told me he works for the FBI but has three teeth and breath that reeks of whiskey. You folks are everywhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/world/asia/21iht-thailand21.html

[scotbeve]

Belgian 'Most Wanted' arrested in Phuket.

Thailand most wanted skill walks free is Dubai (or London, or Hong Kong, or Moscow, or Singapore, or PP, or ....)

Maybe the law authorities in ALL of those countries don't believe in trumped-up charges. Hee, hee.!

[fish fingers]

Glad the pattaya bashing brigade will not be saying that he was hiding out in pattaya

To be honest I prefer Pattaya, at least it does what it says on the tin. Phuket is a murky place. Scratch the glittery surface and its full of real 'farang' scumbags / fraudsters /rich idiots with no taste acting like they are living on a plantation 300 yrs ago. I lived there only 3 months and was glad i left.

[RichardinBKK]

What a sterling example of Thai Visa logic. The evidence that it is easy to hide in Thailand is the arrest of a wanted fugitive.

...who ...we may assume neither walked or swam here. He boarded a flight in "oh so advanced" Europe where he has been hiding for God knows how long... and when he got here ... lights out.

Yes sir...that is some deep thinking folks...

[edko]

What a sterling example of Thai Visa logic. The evidence that it is easy to hide in Thailand is the arrest of a wanted fugitive.

...who ...we may assume neither walked or swam here. He boarded a flight in "oh so advanced" Europe where he has been hiding for God knows how long... and when he got here ... lights out.

Yes sir...that is some deep thinking folks...

He didn't just land here and "lights out". From one of the news articles: ...."He was arrest at a luxurious home in a lane off Saiyuen Road, Rawai, where he reportedly had been living for 17 months with a 24-year-old Thai wife."...

..."An investigation by the Belgian authorities found De Schutter fled to Phuket over a year ago and sometimes went on business trips to Singapore. They requested Thai police arrest him for extradition to Belgium."

My question is what kind of a visa did he have? For my non-immigrant "O" I have to supply a statement from my local law enforcement officials stating that I have no criminal record. If the guy was wanted, how was he able to board an aircraft from his own country?

[taffbkk]

What a sterling example of Thai Visa logic. The evidence that it is easy to hide in Thailand is the arrest of a wanted fugitive.

...who ...we may assume neither walked or swam here. He boarded a flight in "oh so advanced" Europe where he has been hiding for God knows how long... and when he got here ... lights out.

Yes sir...that is some deep thinking folks...

Its worse if anyone from the U.K has the front to spout off, good luck with the awesome Law enforcement there, "lose" hundreds of sex offenders...never mind, accidentally kill totally innocent people every now and then..oh well. Coroners Lie in Autopsy reports?? Who cares...watch the tv and revel in our superiority over johnny foreigner.

Thanks to cctv the old bill do actually seem to catch people every now and then, yet seem to get off the hook when its them caught on it. Corruption and Incompetence in Thailand...it's the minor leagues by comparison.

[zaZa9]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

Again, very strange conclusion 'easy to disappear in Thailand', since the guy has just been caught.

some people only can be negative

Aint that the truth....has anybody offered a 'Thai toursim shoots itself in the foot ' comment yet?

For those grand mothers who will go a tad further , and move to Cambodia/Vietnam/La La Land over another angst ridden incident in there sorry long days , do so now ...... Suvarnibumi Airport is currently not slash your wrists congested...

Bye Bye.

[HowardV]

The article is not very clear, but it does say that the Belgian Embassy asked Thai police to pick him up in Phuket. I think a lot of people are drawing conclusions that I don't think are there.

For one, it seems many are assuming that this man being caught was the work of Thai police. It seems to me that the Belgian Embassy knew he was in Phuket when they asked the police to arrest him. The Belgian government must have worked out which passport De Schutter was using and then traced it to Phuket. The article doesn't mention anything about the man's visa status, but typically a visa requires you report every 3 months as to your whereabouts.

I imagine a more in-depth article would have included information about how exactly the Belgian Embassy knew De Schutter was in the Phuket area in the first place. It should have mentioned whether he was using a fake passport or not, and should have investigated into the visa he had and when he'd last registered with immigration. It should have given a few details of how exactly the police tracked him down, what gave them the tip.

I think the Belgian Embassy did a great job of tracing him to Phuket. It was likely a matter of local police asking around and showing his picture until they traced him back to his place in Rawai. I'm not discrediting the Thai police's work, but hey - give credit where credit is due. The Belgian government tracked this man down, out of all the possible places in the world that he could be, to Phuket, Thailand. The article should be giving more credit to either the Belgian government, Interpol, or both. It should be written as a cooperative effort. But putting Damapong Priewpan's photo at the top and writing that he was the man who "ordered the investigation" seems inaccurate and misleading.

[Tanlic]

So you reckon the Belgian Embassy told the Thai Police he was in Phuket and it then took the Thai Police Force a month to find him?

I hardly think so

[Ashoka]

If you want to escape the law, come to miracle Thailand! Should be a TAT slogan!

I sure it is easier to blame us in Thailand than to blame your home country for letting them escape. Get a life and stop insulting my country, if you do not like it go home!

[jaapfries]

Nation Photo

Anyone wearing that T-shirt should be arrested ... -.-

Yes, always best to wear something discreet when you are trying to go unnoticed....

A T-Shirt ??? Maybe they call it that in Belgium, but to 'normal' folks that is a Dress Shirt, an of a very dubious color ! ! !

I reckon his 24 year young 'wife' may well have purchased this for her 57 year old 'husband' . . . . . . .

Edited July 31, 2012 by jaapfries

[brianP]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

It is pretty easy for criminals to 'disappear' in any country. The UK has 1000s of foreign criminals on the run. Neither the police or immigration have any idea where they are.

Ever here of MEXICO, international stomping grounds for the fugitives, and the illegals who burned their bridges in USA.

[Colabamumbai]

I spoke to soon there are the photos.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Colabamumbai

[splodger]

If you want to escape the law, come to miracle Thailand! Should be a TAT slogan!

If YOU want to escape miracle Thailand,then TOU should ** off home!

[alibaba007]

Good job

[HerbalEd]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

Looks like this Belgian guy had plenty of money ... and now things won't be so easy.

[watcharacters]

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

Looks like this Belgian guy had plenty of money ... and now things won't be so easy.

I missed the reference about how much money the crook had but good riddance anyway.