Nigerian man arrested after fleeing Phuket Immigration check
A Nigerian man identified as Matthew was detained in Kathu after allegedly fleeing an immigration inspection and failing to produce a passport.
A 40-year-old Nigerian man identified only as Matthew was detained in Kathu on 28 August after allegedly fleeing a Phuket Immigration inspection, according to Immigration Division 6 spokesperson Pol Col Charoenpong Khantiloh.
Phuket Immigration officers were conducting checks at a condominium at about 3.15pm as part of an operation targeting foreigners suspected of violating immigration regulations. Officers said Matthew could not produce his passport after they identified themselves as Immigration Police, then ran from them. He was caught in the condominium’s parking area.
Officers searched his nearby car and found the passport inside. They said it contained no Thai entry stamp. Further checks with the Immigration Bureau’s information system allegedly found no record of his entry into Thailand.
During questioning, Matthew allegedly admitted entering Thailand illegally by boat through a natural border crossing with Laos, officers said. He was charged with entering and remaining in Thailand without permission as a foreign national. The case was transferred to investigators at Kathu Police Station for further legal proceedings.
