An American suspect was detained in Chiang Mai yesterday, May 12, after Thai police received information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he was wanted in the United States for assault and stalking.
The American, identified as 58 year old Joseph Frances Chinnock, also known as Joseph Kelly, was wanted on a US arrest warrant. The FBI reportedly described him as a serious threat with alleged behaviour involving sexual stalking and harassment of children and women.
The US warrant relates to three counts of assault and three counts of stalking. The US Embassy had also cancelled his passport.
Thai Immigration Police were instructed to act after receiving information from the FBI office in Thailand. Checks found that Chinnock had entered Thailand on a Privilege Entry (PE) visa on March 23, 2026.
Immigration Police sought approval to revoke his visa after checking his entry record. Investigators later found that he was staying at a condominium in Suthep subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Mai district, Chiang Mai.
Officers from Immigration Police Region 5 and the Central Investigation Bureau located Chinnock at around 10pm. He was informed of the visa revocation and taken to Chiang Mai Immigration for detention.
Matichon reported that he will later be transferred to Immigration Police investigators for further legal proceedings.
The arrest followed an order from national police chief Kittirat Phanphet for police nationwide to inspect, suppress and dismantle illegal foreign criminal networks within three months.
The policy covers transnational crime, illegal entry, the use of Thailand as a transit point or hideout, illegal foreign work, and nominee-style businesses affecting public order.
Immigration Police said they maintain intelligence databases on foreign nationals linked to transnational criminal networks, illegal migrant smuggling and other offences.
It also works with local police, Interpol member countries, foreign police agencies and police attachés to exchange information.
Police urged anyone with information about foreign nationals suspected of breaking the law to contact 191, 1599, police unit websites or the Immigration Bureau hotline at 1178.
Elsewhere, Thai police arrested a foreign hacker, wanted by the FBI for allegedly breaching security systems and attacking government agencies’ online networks across Europe and the United States, at a hotel in the Thalang district of Phuket.
The story American FBI suspect detained in Chiang Mai over US warrant as seen on Thaiger News.
