A 20 kilometre car chase involving the police and a Nigerian drugs suspect took place in Phuket yesterday afternoon, according to a Phuket Express report. The Nigerian man was also on a 4 year overstay, with his passport having expired during the pandemic. He’s evaded immigration police and visas for all that time.
It’s unclear how or why the car chase started, but according to the report, officers from both Phuket Immigration and Cherngtalay Police started to chase what was deemed a “suspicious” vehicle in the Thalang district, on the coastal north of the island.
The chase began in the sub-district of Chergntalay, continuing past Heroines Monument, in the middle of the island, and east to Paklok, before then heading for Koh Kaew and then to Kathu.
It’s understood the suspect’s car hit many other vehicles during the chase, which finally ended with his vehicle coming to rest in a ditch in Kathu. At this point, the suspect jumped out of the car and tried to run from police. He got about 300 metres before being arrested.
The man has been named as 26 year old George Ananere, a Nigerian national, who allegedly sold cocaine to people in the Chergntalay and Patong areas. It’s understood he was reported to police by anonymous “concerned citizens”.
Ananere lived in a house in the sub-district of Sri Soonthorn, in Thalang, from where police later seized an undisclosed quantity of cocaine. The suspect has been taken to Chergntalay Police Station to face legal charges, which will also factor in the damages owed for vehicles he struck during the car chase.
Following prosecution and what is likely to be a significant prison sentence, Ananere is expected to be deported and blacklisted.
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
