Australian wanted for kidnapping arrested on Sukhumvit
A 69-YEAR-OLD Australian man wanted by Interpol and in his home country for an alleged kidnapping and extortion case was apprehended at a hotel in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit area yesterday.
After receiving a tip-off about a suspicious foreigner, police did a background check and found that Guido James Egliti was a wanted man.
They obtained an order from the national police to revoke his visa and arrested him in a hotel lobby, Crime Suppression Division (CSD) deputy superintendent Pol Lt-Colonel Annop Prasongsuk said.
Egliti has been accused of conspiring with others in April 2009 to abduct a 58-year-old man, detaining him at a house in Annerley, Queensland, and trying to extort money from him. However, the victim escaped, which led to the gang’s arrest, CSD deputy superintendent Pol Lt-Colonel Chai Sanguansin said.
He then allegedly jumped bail and fled to Cambodia where he reportedly committed a similar crime resulting in arrest. He once again allegedly jumped bail and fled to Thailand, Annop said.
A source reported that Egliti was allegedly the leader of a gang that had abducted people wanted for sexual offences many times while claiming to be police.
Egliti told police that he had been prosecuted and served time in Australia, after which he went to Cambodia. He admitted that he and his friends had committed a similar crime there, adding that he served another year in prison, according to police.
The suspect told police that he had not known that he was wanted in Australia.
Thai police have charged Egliti with abduction, illegal detention and theft according to the Interpol warrant and contacted Australia to extradite him.