German fugitive apprehended in Pattaya

A Hamburg native was picked up by Pattaya Police after it was found that he was on the lam from authorities in Germany for multiple accounts of credit card fraud. His arrest followed a coordinated investigation between Thai authorities, the German Embassy in Bangkok and the Hamburg Prosecutor’s Office.

40-year old Dirk Michelmann fled Europe after an arrest warrant was issued on September 14th, 2007. He gained entry to Thailand in January with a false passport and has been hiding out in a Pattaya guesthouse ever since. Police found Michelmann sitting in a beer bar adjacent to his accommodation last week and he was arrested in connection with 62 cases of credit card fraud, evading arrest in Europe and overstaying an already invalid visa in Thailand. Monies in excess of 6 million baht have been estimated to have been accrued through Michelmann’s illegal activities, and he now faces charges in Germany aside from his being blacklisted from Thailand under the 1979 Immigration Act.