A Turkish engineer wanted under an Interpol Red Notice was arrested in Pattaya on Wednesday, April 22, after allegedly fleeing legal action linked to a fatal building collapse in Turkey.
Officers from Chon Buri Immigration identified the suspect as 76 year old Abdullah Ayababa, who had been living in Thailand after working as an engineer in Turkey.
Turkish authorities sought Ayababa following the collapse of a building in Adana province on February 6, caused by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The incident resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.
Investigators in Turkey found that substandard construction materials contributed to the collapse. As the supervising engineer, Ayababa was held responsible for the fatalities and injuries linked to the project.
Police said Ayababa left Turkey after charges were filed and stayed at a condominium in Jomtien, Pattaya. Immigration officers later raided the property and arrested him.
Immigration police said they would process the case and coordinate his return to Turkey for further legal proceedings.
In recent cases, several foreign suspects wanted under Interpol notices have been arrested in Thailand. On April 10, a Swedish national was detained in Phuket over allegations including murder, illegal weapons possession and drug trafficking, and was also found to have overstayed his visa by six days.
Earlier this month, police arrested a South Korean national in Pathum Thani identified as a leader of a scam network that allegedly defrauded more than 9,000 victims, causing losses exceeding 335 million baht. Six other suspects linked to the case had already been arrested.
Last month, a Frenchman wanted under an Interpol Red Notice was arrested in Phuket in connection with an attempted murder case.
In January, Phuket police detained a Russian construction contractor accused of fraud resulting in damages estimated at 100 million baht.
One of the major arrests under an Interpol Red Notice was reported in Pattaya in December when an Uzbek woman was found hiding from human trafficking in the city. She reportedly tricked women into prostitution by promising them well-paid jobs in Pattaya.
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