Fugitive Chaowalit will be repatriated via Jakarta by Indonesian authorities on a chartered flight

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: High-profile fugitive Chaowalit "Paeng Nanod" Thongduang will be extradited to Thailand on a chartered flight organised by Indonesian authorities, after a previous plan to bring him home on an RTAF aircraft came under public scrutiny.

A source said the chartered aircraft will fly directly from Jakarta to Nakhon Si Thammarat later Tuesday.

Pol Maj Gen Somchai Seutortrakul, Nakhon Si Thammarat police chief, said a special unit would receive the 37-year-old fugitive at the provincial airport and take him to Muang police station, where he will be interrogated and formally charged over his escape from custody. He said Chaowalit's lawyer will be present during the entire process, which, depending on the suspect's level of cooperation, could take up to a couple of days.

He would then be handed over to Corrections Department officials.

Security would be tight at the airport and along the route to the destination, he said. The police chief did not reveal the route.

Chaowalit, 37, was serving time at Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison for attempted murder and was facing a slew of other charges in other cases, including murder, attempted murder and firearms possession, when he escaped.

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

Despite a massive manhunt that followed, Chaowalit 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. He was arrested in Bali last Thursday by Indonesian police for drug dealing, using a fake Indonesian ID card and assaulting women.

Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong said on Monday the Corrections Department will decide where Chaowalit will be detained and instructed agencies concerned to beef up security.

Pol Maj Yutthana Phraedam, deputy chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), said on Monday Chaowalit's case has not been transferred to the DSI.

However, he said DSI had conducted a fact-finding probe on Chaowalit's claims of mistreatment, his connections to drug rings and his escape from the hospital.