Interpol recently issued an alert naming Zdenek Pfeifer, 49, reading: “This person may be armed, infectious and is liable to commit sexual offence involving minor.”

The alert did not mention the nature of the infection but Thai police have implied that he might have HIV.

Czech media reports said Pfeifer fled the country in 2015 after he was charged with deliberately infecting more than a dozen men with HIV, including a minor.

Deputy police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said Pfeifer was detained at his apartment in Thalang district and brought to a police station for questioning.

The suspect has admitted he was Pfeifer but police will perform DNA testing to confirm his identity.

Phuket police said questioning the suspect had not produced any useful information because he claimed that he could not understand English.

Thai police have quoted Czech authorities as saying that Pfeifer tested positive for HIV in 2010, and since then he had unprotected sex with at least 10 people. He also allegedly had sex with a minor, which was recorded on video.

Thai police said the suspect came to Thailand in June 2015 on a tourist visa, which would have allowed him to stay in the Kingdom until the following August, but then he overstayed. Records show he had been seen in various tourist cities including Chiang Mai.

Pol Lt-General Nathathorn Prousoontorn, commander of immigration police, told reporters no one had filed a complaint that Pfeiffer had knowingly infected someone in Thailand with HIV.

The deputy police spokesman said the suspect had the right to determine if he would undergo HIV testing. Police will check what laws the suspect may have violated in Thailand in case it is confirmed that he intentionally spread the virus.

Pfeifer will be brought to Bangkok for further interrogation at the Immigration Bureau.

The suspect almost escaped from police custody on Tuesday when a local police officer was distracted by an urgent need to go to the toilet. Initially, Pfeifer was seen parking a motorcycle at a superstore in Thepkasatree Road at about 7pm.

A police officer apprehended him and requested to see his passport, but he claimed that he was an Italian. The officer took his picture using his mobile phone, but then urgently needed to visit the restroom. So he confiscated Pfeifer’s keys and told him to remain where he was. When the officer returned, however, the suspect was gone and the police said he might have had a spare key.

Police then followed him to his apartment and fortunately found him there.