Jakarta. Indonesian authorities on Tuesday deported Thailand’s high-profile fugitive Chaowalit Thongduang under tight security from Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

Inspector General Krishna Murti, the head of the National Police’s International Relations Division, said Chaowalit was deported for immigration offenses in Indonesia.

However, Thailand has conducted a massive manhunt for the fugitive who has been convicted of attempted murder and is facing other criminal charges including murder and illegal possession of arms.

Krishna told reporters at the airport that 10 Indonesian policemen and their Thai counterparts guarded the fugitive en route to the airport where a chartered plane was waiting for him.

"The suspect has entered Indonesia not via the formal entry gate, so it’s not that we were left off guard regarding his arrival here. He escaped from Thailand in a speedboat and entered Aceh with the support of his agents," Krishna said.

Chaowalit, 37, changed his name to Sulaiman in his attempt to blend with the locals and pretended to be a muted person to disguise his inability to speak the Indonesian language, he added. 

"His accomplices who harbored him have been arrested by the Aceh Provincial Police, including those who supplied him with a fake ID and family registration cards," Krishna said without going into details.

According to a Bangkok Post report, Chaowalit was serving time at Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison for attempted murder when he escaped.

On Oct. 22 last year, he fled Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, where he was being treated for dental problems.

He managed to escape Thailand in a speedboat, reportedly from Satun. While on the run, Chaowalit released several video clips, claiming he was unfairly treated by the justice system.

Chaowalit was arrested by the Indonesian police for allegedly selling drugs and attacking a woman in Bali on May 20.

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