Seven years after illegal entry! Gambian arrested on Koh Phangan Island

A 52-year-old Gambian man has been arrested on Koh Phangan on a charge of illegal entry and staying in the country illegally for seven years.

Tourist police spotted Saikou Jawara walking along a street to a bar on the tourist island in Surat Thani province at about 1.30am on Friday.

Upon seeing their patrol car, Mr Jawara appeared frightened and quickly entered the bar, heading for a dimly lit corner. When the officers followed and asked him to present documents, he loudly exclaimed “Bingo!”

When he failed to produce a passport or other documents, the officers took him to the local tourist service unit for questioning.

During questioning, he initially claimed his name was John Ako, from Gambia. However, a check of Immigration entry records did not find anyone by that name.

The officers later asked to see his wallet and found a document showing the name Saikou Jawara, and Gambian nationality.

A further check showed that Mr Jawara entered Thailand by boat through the Tammalang port immigration checkpoint in Satun on Nov 11, 2016.

He then admitted to being the person in the entry record.

He told the arresting team that he had left Thailand and stayed in Malaysia for a certain period. He claimed he lost his passport there.

After deciding in 2017 that he wanted to return to Thailand, he paid a Malaysian friend US$200 to coordinate with a Thai friend to help him enter the kingdom.

Police investigators learned that the Thai fixer had also brought three other foreigners of unknown nationalities into Thailand.

After entering Thailand, Mr Jawara stayed with a female friend at her house on Koh Phangan, and has lived there ever since.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed, told investigators that she was not aware Mr Jawara had entered the country illegally. She had never seen his passport.

He was charged with entering and staying in the country without permission and handed over to investigators at the Koh Phangan police station for legal proceedings.

Read the full story at Bangkok Post – Gambian arrested on Koh Phangan 7 years after illegal entry which was brought to us by Google Alerts.

Photo credit @ Bangkok Post Assawin Pakkawan