Bangkok – Thai police on Thursday arrested a former Belgian policeman who had allegedly been running an extortion racket in the beach resort town of Pattaya.

M. J., 50, was arrested at his rented apartment in Pattaya, 90 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, and charged with overstaying his tourist visa by two months, Pattaya Immigration Police Lieutenant Colonel Nopon Kuldilok said.

If found guilty of visa violations, J. faces a fine and deportation.

‘The Belgian embassy has been receiving many complaints about Jacobs, who was allegedly going around telling fellow Belgians that he was a cop and extorting money from them,’ Nopon said.

-TN