A German man who went viral online in May 2019 for helping his Thai wife sell chicken barbecue on the streets of Pak Chong, Thailand has turned out to be a wanted person and subject of a red notice of Interpol.

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Maximilian Fernsebner, was arrested by Thai authorities earlier this week.

Fernsebner was put into the authorities’ radar after he became viral online in May when locals took pictures of him helping out his Thai wife, Pawanee “Nan” Sricheai, sell chicken BBQ on the streets of Pak Chong. It was initially reported that the couple was helping out the woman’s mother sell the street food as she recovers from her illness.

Fernsebner is accused of selling drugs online such as methamphetamines and ecstasy, but Bangkok Post also added that he was involved in theft and is in possession and distribution of child porn materials.

However, many people and publication got ultimately curious as to who this person is so some of them started to contact local authorities to help identify the foreigner.

“After the pictures blew up, many news publications started calling us for the name of the German. Since we didn’t know who he was either, we sent pictures to the German embassy. That’s when they told us, ‘Hey this guy’s wanted!’” Col. Chatchawan Tipichai told Coconuts Bangkok.

It turns out that Fernsebner had slipped into Thailand illegally and had been living in the country undetected since he arrived a couple of years back.

“When he entered the country in 2017, the Interpol warrant had not been forwarded to us yet,” Chatchawan told the publication. “When we finally got it last year, he was already in Thailand, but because he did it illegally, he is not in the system. So we didn’t know he was here.”

After discovering that they have an Interpol wanted man in their country, authorities quickly dispatched officers to arrest the German in his wife’s home and to detain him, but he was tipped off and by the time immigration officers arrived, he was already gone.

“We waited for him for over a month after that. We had police staking out his wife’s house, but he never showed up,” Chatchawan said. Fortunately, he resurfaced again in late June after local residents reported about a foreigner who was frequently seen in an abandoned plot in the district.

After hearing the account, officials were dispatched again and had a stake out in the area on June 18. The police received a call from the German Embassy three days later with a message from the suspect’s mother telling authorities that her son will only turn himself to embassy representatives and for the Thai police to pull back. Both parties eventually agreed to this condition and Fernsebner was put into custody.

Fernsebner is being held by the police and is now preparing to be sent back to Germany to stand trial.

Images via Facebook / Siam Citizens News