Lt Col Tammasan Bonrong of the Phuket Provincial Police arrested the man as he exited his rented room on Chumporn Rd in Phuket Town at about 6pm.
On request, the man was unable to show police his ID card, so the officers then took him to Phuket Provincial Police Station for further investigation.
Police explained that the man is believed to be Kamhang Kunprom, 35, originally from Phattalung, who is wanted for slaying a police officer in Songkhla province, in 2007.
Kamhang is wanted under an arrest warrant from Phattalung Provincial Court for murder, owning an illegal gun and ammunition, and possession of stolen goods, Col Tammasan explained.
According to the details of the arrest warrant, Kamhang is wanted for the murder of Maj Wuttichai Jantakan, 37, a police office who was stationed at Thung Tam Sao Police Station, in Hat Yai District, Songkhla,
Maj Wuttichai was killed on April 10, 2007, said the warrant. His body found in Khao Chaison District, in Phattalung. His throat had been slashed and he had a bullet hole in his right cheek
The suspect for the murder, Kamhang, disappeared at the same time.
Col Tammasan explained that from their investigations, the police have “confirmed” that the man arrested on Friday is Kamhang.
He added that that since the time of the killing, Kamhang had moved to Phuket to open a restaurant in Kathu and had changed his name to Phupa Khunpet.
The man arrested on Friday, however, denied any part in the killing, saying he he was “asleep at the time of the killing over 11 years ago”.
The police have now transferred the man to Khao Chaison Police Station in Phattalung to undergo further investigation.