Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said yesterday that he was not aware of Thaksin Shinawatra being detained in Italy as reported by the Democrat Party, adding that the opposition party was only spreading rumours to discredit the former prime minister.

Democrat MP Sirichoke Sopha said earlier that Italian immigration officers had briefly detained Thaksin upon arrival on Wednesday. The Democrat also said that a friend of his who works for the Interpol had told him that Thaksin used his new Thai passport, instead of his Montenegro one, to enter Italy.

Read more: The Nation