Crime
British Fugative, Cigarette Smuggler Paul Joyce Apprehended in Hua Hin
British fugitive Paul Joyce
HUA HIN – British fugitive Paul Joyce who allegedly masterminded a cigarette-smuggling ring that cost the UK government £2 million in lost tax revenue in 2008 was captured in Hua Hin on Wednesday, Pol Lt Col Boonsanong Baotun reported.
Paul Joyce, was apprehended by Special Branch Police officers at a parking lot at the Sea-Cret Hua Hin hotel in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province resort town.
Pol Lt Col Boonsanong Baotun of the Special Branch Police Division 1 said the arrest was made after the Criminal Court approved his arrest on Wednesday.
Mr Joyce is wanted on an arrest warrant from UK police and had fled to Thailand to escape prosecution for evasion of excise taxes.
The Special Branch Police did not say when he entered Thailand, but it could have been in 2008, when 10 alleged accomplices were caught by UK customs officials smuggling 10 million black-market cigarettes into the country.
Customs officers captured the men while they delivered and unloaded the duty-free smokes and rolling tobacco throughout the Northeast, according to The Journal. Numerous arrests had been made before the ring was smashed for good.
Authorities estimated that the UK lost almost £2 million in tax revenue from the scheme.
The court in Newcastle sent seven members of the gang to prison for 12 months to over two years in 2011. One man was acquitted and Mr Joyce, allegedly the kingpin, escaped to Thailand.
