BANGKOK (AFP) – Thai police have arrested an American who fled a 25-year jail sentence in the United States for kidnapping, sex trafficking and other crimes, officers said Tuesday.
Selva Delano Mudaliar was jailed for at least 25 years by a court in the US state of Oregon in March this year, according to a Thai police statement, on 11 counts that also included strangulation and coercion.
The 37-year-old fled to Thailand while on parole and lived in the kingdom for more than three months, “frequently changing hotels and apartment”, according to the police statement.
He was arrested on Friday at a condominium in Bangkok after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation asked the Thai authorities for help, and now faces extradition.
“It is believed that Mr. Selva knew that he was wanted by the police,” Korkiat Wutthijamnong, a senior officer with the Royal Thai Police’s Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression unit, told reporters at a press conference.
He added that the Thai police were concerned Mudaliar would “do similar types of sexual violence he did in the US, but in Thailand”.
Michael Chai, legal attache at the US embassy in Bangkok, thanked the Thai police.
