Thai police have charged a Canadian man they described as a mercenary with the murder of an Indian gangster in the Phuket resort island.
The police have launched an investigation into the death of Jimi Slice Sandhu, whose nickname came from a distinctive scar on his face, in February 2022.
Interpol issued a red notice for the murder of Canadian citizen Matthew Leandre Ovide Dupre last year.
He was extradited from Canada and returned to Thailand late Sunday.
He is a key suspect and a professional mercenary. Asked about the situation, he flew in to finish his job and did not even bring a weapon, National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas said.
He was charged with premeditated murder, illegal gun possession, and firing a gun, a police statement said.
Dupre was not charged with all charges, officials said.
Damrongsak said Dupre was a former soldier and mercenary who had worked in several countries, including Afghanistan.
He arrived in the Thai capital Bangkok on a special Thai Air Force flight, Damrongsak said.
It is a difficult case, no commercial flights or countries allowed the plane to refuel as they were concerned about hostage-taking, he said.
Investigators will continue to investigate who provided the weapons.
Canada and Thailand have a similar arrangement to offer mutual assistance, including extradition, in criminal cases.
Thai State Prosecutor Intranee Sumawong said the foreign office had reassured Canadian concerns about Thailand's death penalty, under a new extradition bill.
On February 15, 2022, Sandhu flew in on a private jet from Malaysia, where he had spent several days in captivity.
Two men jumping out of the bushes, opening fire on Sandhu and then fleeing to the night, police said.
Before the attack, the 2022 Interpol notification said, Sandhu's car had had a GPS tracker taped to it.
In 2016, he was deported from Canada for a string of criminal offences, resurfacing when he was detained in India in 2018 over a ketamine factory.
A second man, Gene Karl Lahrkamp, who is also wanted in connection with the murder, died in a small plane crash in 2022, according to Canadian media.