PHUKET – A 36-year-old Belgian-Moroccan man, identified as Achmal Oussama, was arrested by immigration authorities in Phuket after an arrest warrant from a case dating back 10 years was issued by the Attorney General’s Office and forwarded to the Royal Thai Police.
Achmal was charged with attempted murder with premeditation, carrying a firearm without a license, and possessing ammunition, firearm parts, or accessories that are mounted on a firearm without a license.
He was then taken to the Office of the Attorney General’s International Affairs Division for further proceedings under the Extradition Act.
Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana Nuch-cha-nart, said on January 23 that Achmal went on a rampage in the middle of a street in Belgium on January 19, 2014, during a conflict with his ex-girlfriend. The Brussels Court of Appeal later sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but he has been on the run ever since.
Thai authorities discovered that the Belgian-Moroccan suspect was working illegally in Thailand, and the Attorney General requested an arrest warrant from the Criminal Court, dated December 15, 2023, for Phuket immigration to execute.
The Phuket Immigration Investigation Division found that Achmal had used a Belgian passport to enter and leave Thailand several times before the arrest warrant was issued. In recent years, he had switched to using a Moroccan passport and had listed his residence alternately in Bangkok, Sisaket and Phuket.
He was last found to have registered his residence in Phuket province. Investigators found that the suspect had been staying at an apartment in the Patong area and had visited it several times. The suspect also worked as a DJ at a nightclub in the Patong area.
