How Did Thai Officials Find Pedophile Suspect?
Posted October 19, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was like finding a needle in a haystack. How do you locate a single person in a country as large as Thailand with so many places to hide? But the story behind the apprehension of Canadian pedophile suspect Christopher Neil is almost as strange as the pictures and the actions he’s alleged to have taken to get into this trouble in the first place. It involves a race to get to his hideout – and the assistance of a transvestite friend.
Thai police laid out the bare bones of his capture, which has attracted worldwide attention. It began when they decided to keep tabs on the people who knew Neil during his previous trips to the country.
On Thursday night, that strategy paid off. Police were able to trace a call from a 25-year-old Thai native, accused of arranging some of Neil’s alleged sexual liaisons with young boys. When they confronted the man authorities call a transvestite, he admitted he knew where Neil was, and led them to a rented home in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima, where the Canadian was believed to be hiding out.
Five officers walked up to the residence and knocked. Neil opened the door and was immediately asked for proof of his identity. He acknowledged his name but refused to talk about anything else, demanding to see a lawyer. The 130-long kilometre trip back to Bangkok, where he appeared in court Friday morning, may have seemed a long one for the suspect. But it’s nothing compared to the journey that lies ahead. That will likely include a trial in the country and another in Canada, where he may be extradited to face justice back home.
Photo credit: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images
