Police in Thailand have arrested a fugitive gold mining executive who fled Myanmar in a bid to escape charges of mining without a permit that could land him in prison for 10 years.
Soe Htun Shein, chairman of the National Prosperity Company, had evaded arrest for several months after he defied a government order to shut down a 6,000-acre gold mining site in Mandalay region.
The tycoon was handed over to authorities in Myanmar in the border town of Tachileik at around 12pm Wednesday, police told Myanmar Now.
He was sent to Mandalay by plane later in the afternoon, said Brig-Gen Zaw Khin Aung, chief of police in Shan state. He is believed to have then been sent to Naypyitaw by car.
Security was tightened Wednesday along a border bridge linking Tachileik to Thailand, as well as at Mandalay International airport.
Photos published by Golden Triangle Regional News showed about 10 police officers at Tachileik airport escorting a man believed to be Soe Htun Shein, who was being covered by umbrellas.
![Resistance fighters holding heavy weapons ammunition in central Myanmar. (Photo: Freedom Revolution Force [FRF])](https://myanmar-now.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/438869056_443267851680128_1706386881626943924_n-390x220.jpeg)
