Police also arrested Master Sergeant First Class Chuchai Pimpithak, 44, for conspiring to abduct, detain and murder Passapol, bringing the number of suspects in custody in this case to four. Police are still seeking two other fugitives.

Passapol’s body was discovered on May 1 with gunshot wounds in a trench alongside the Somdet-Pha Sawei Road in Kalasin’s Somdet district. This resulted in the arrest of two former uniformed officers – Manoon Methaporn, 49, and Kittipop Kreuayai, 54 – who allegedly played a part in the five-strong abduction and murder team.

The two men confessed and implicated Wiraj Ratanayathikhun, saying he had hired them and promised to pay a total of Bt2 million. Wiraj surrendered on Monday night to fight the claim and was granted temporary release on a Bt500,000 guarantee yesterday.