Two-year run ends: Swedish drug trafficker captured in Koh Samui

Image courtesy via Thairath

A 60 year old Swedish man on the run for two years to evade drug trafficking accusations and a visa overstay in Koh Samui, was apprehended and taken into custody by the Surat Thani Immigration Police. The Swedish man, Reno Penti Olavi Martin, was arrested yesterday at approximately 7pm, on the orders of the Chief of the Immigration Police, and the Clean House initiative.

Martin was wanted by the Bangkok South Criminal Court for drug trafficking in the Thonglor district in 2020 but he had evaded capture ever since the court issued the warrant for his arrest. Suphruk Phankoson, the Chief of Immigration for Surat Thani, disclosed that the arrest resulted from a tip from the information system of the Immigration Office, which led to the investigation, reported Khaosod.

It was possible to follow Martin’s actions because of the posts he made on social media. Martin put a location tag at a resort in Bang Rak, Koh Samui, at approximately 4am today, which allowed the arrest squad to track him down and apprehend him. Martin showed up close to the resort’s parking lot at about 4.10pm, and he was taken into custody right away.

After reviewing his travel paperwork, it was discovered that the date on which he was granted permission to remain in the kingdom on December 22, 2021, had long since passed. Martin did not leave the country even though his authorization to do so had run out. Instead, he continued to conceal himself on the islands of Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui, resulting in an overstay of a combined total of 624 days.