Canadian former soldier extradited to Thailand over gangland killing | Thailand

A former Canadian soldier has been extradited to Thailand in connection with the killing of a criminal gang member in Phuket.

Matthew Dupre, 38, is wanted for the alleged murder of suspected criminal Jimi Sandhu, who was shot dead in February 2022, Thailand’s central investigation bureau commissioner, Jirabhop Bhuridej, told reporters.

Sandhu was born in India but raised in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where he joined the United Nations gang. He was deported to India in 2016 by Canadian authorities for “serious criminality” and arrested there two years later for his role in a ketamine manufacturing operation.

At the time of Sandhu’s killing, Thai police identified two assailants dressed in hooded sweatshirts and face coverings who fled to Canada two days after the shooting.

Dupre is believed to have acted alongside Gene Lahrkamp, another Canadian veteran who was killed in a plane crash in rural Ontario while on the run from police.

On Monday, police footage showed Dupre in handcuffs and surrounded by police on an airplane. A Thai air force craft was used after commercial airlines declined requests for transport over safety concerns, Thai police said.

“We have to get hold of the suspect so that he be prosecuted under the Thai judicial system,” state prosecutor Intranee Sumawong said, adding that Dupre would not face a death penalty under the extradition bill.

“We have [to] ensure that there is security in Thailand and uphold our reputation that this country is safe to live in,” she said.

Officials in Canada remain unsure where the ill-fated plane carrying Lahrkamp was headed when it crashed near the community of Sioux Lookout a year ago, after a planned stop in Marathon, Ontario.

Also on board the four-seater Piper PA-28 Cherokee was Duncan Bailey, an alleged gang member, who was facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder over a 2020 shooting in Vancouver. Neither pilot Abhinav Handa nor the third passenger had criminal records. Everyone on board the plane died.

In November, officials with Canada’s transportation safety board released a report suggesting poor visibility, excess weight and an inexperienced pilot contributed to the crash, adding the plane like went into a “cartwheeling motion” before hitting trees on the rugged landscape.

At the time of his death Lahrkamp was one of the most-wanted men in Canada with a C$100,000 (£60,000) bounty on his head.