Police arrest 'most wanted' paedo suspect
A Canadian teacher who became the world's most wanted paedophile suspect has been arrested in north-east Thailand, Thai police said today.
Christopher Neil, 32, was arrested in the Nakhon Ratchasima province and was expected to be brought to the capital Bangkok later today.
Police teams rushed to the province early today after receiving information that Neil had fled to the area.
Announcing the arrest, Maj Gen Wimol Powintara said: "Bingo! We've got him."
Thai authorities issued an arrest warrant yesterday for Neil after determining that he may have sexually abused boys in Thailand, in addition to the dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as six, whom Interpol suspects he abused.
At Thailand's request, Interpol also issued an international wanted persons notice for Neil.
Neil was identified following a global appeal by Interpol after a man was shown in around 200 internet photos sexually abusing boys in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Christopher Paul Neil
The alleged paedophile tried to hide his identity
Thai police would not release full details of how Neil was arrested, stating only that a press conference would be held in Bangkok later today.
Wimol said residents told police they had spotted the Canadian near the home of a Thai man who police say had helped Neil to meet young boys in the past.
Neil's photograph has been plastered across Thai newspapers and the television news for days, prompting numerous calls about suspected sightings.
But police were focusing on the sighting in the north east.
Neil lived in Thailand from 2002 to early 2004, police said.
The Canadian has taught at various schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since at least 2000.
He suddenly left his most recent teaching job in South Korea last week on a one-way ticket for Thailand as investigators closed in on his identity.
Cameras at the immigration counter captured his image as he arrived at Bangkok's international airport.
The Thai arrest warrant is based on the testimony of one boy, who said he was lured to Neil's apartment in Bangkok by a Thai man, Wimol said.
The boy was one of three Thai youths, aged nine, 13 and 14 at the time, who contacted police after seeing Neil's photograph on television.
They claimed he had paid them to perform a sex act on him in 2003, Wimol said earlier, adding that the Canadian allegedly also had sex with at least one other underage male.
The boys said the suspect showed them pornographic images on his computer at his apartment in Bangkok, and paid them each £8-£16, Wimol said.
The hunt for Neil began three years ago when German police discovered about 200 online photographs of a man sexually abusing children.
His face was digitally obscured, but police were able to reconstruct a recognisable image and Interpol circulated those images last week.
The suspect was identified with the help of hundreds of tips from people who responded to an appeal by Interpol for public assistance.
Before teaching in Asia, Neil had worked as a chaplain in Canada, counselling teenagers.
Canadian authorities have said they will seek his extradition, as the country has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.
Metro
