Canadian drug fugitive lived luxury life in Thailand before dying in police custody

The deceased Alexandre Cazes, who was French-Canadian but wanted in the U.S. on drug charges, lived a luxury life with a local wife on the lam in Thailand for eight years before he was arrested on July 5 and allegedly committed suicide while in Thai police custody yesterday morning.

Cazes, 26, was found hanged by a towel in the toilet of his jail cell, a few hours before his deportation hearing on Wednesday morning. Police examination of his cell and all evidence found “no clues that suggest he didn’t hang himself,” said Commander of Narcotics Suppression Bureau Pol. Maj. Gen. Sunthon Chalermkiat.

A woman detained in the opposite cell said Cazes had asked her for the time before he entered the toilet that morning, adding that she didn’t see anything suspicious, Bangkok Post reported.

Police arrested the man after getting an extradition request from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the U.S. He was to be deported and face charges in the U.S. He had no police record from his years in Thailand, reported The Nation.

Cazes was arrested at his home at The Private House housing estate in Bangkok’s outskirts, where police said they seized property worth THB400 million (USD11.8 million) registered under his name, including four Lamborghini cars and three houses.

According to information available online, a property in The Private House can cost up to THB8 million (USD235,000). Further details of his assets was not revealed, and police are investigating if he had other holdings.

The Canadian reportedly worked as a programmer in Thailand and had a Thai wife, whom police said did not doubt that his death was a suicide.

Editor’s Note: Despite the media reports that his name is Alexander Cazes, Coconuts has seen a copy of his passport, and his name is spelled Alexandre.

Coconuts

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