Canadian Matthew Dupre has been successfully extradited to Thailand for killing a gang member last year, arriving in Bangkok on a special air plane, Thai authorities said on Monday.
Dupre, a former member of the Canadian military, is accused of killing Jimi Sandhu, Commissioner of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Thai Police Jirabhop Bhuridej, told a press conference.
“The deceased was linked to the United Nations Gang and was linked to the killing of one of the leaders of another gang, called Red Scorpion, in Canada,” Jirabhop said.
Dupre, 38, and another man with a Canadian military background, Gene Karl Lahrkam, are accused by Thai police of traveling to the island of Phuket – about 700 kilometers southwest of Bangkok – to kill Sandhu, a former gangster in Abbotsford, BC, who was shot dead by two suspects wearing hoodies on February 5, 2022.
Dupre and Lahrkamp were discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces as corporals, according to the CAF.
Dupre was arrested in Alberta and remains in jail pending extradition. Lahrkamp was found dead in the mysterious crash of a four-seat Piper PA 28-140 near Sioux Lookout, Ont., in the early hours of April 30, 2022.
Thai police footage shows Dupre being handcuffed and surrounded by police on the plane. The extradition involved a Thai air force flight after a commercial airline rejected a transport request due to security concerns, Thai police said.
“We must arrest the suspect so that he can be prosecuted under the Thai justice system,” state prosecutor Intranee Sumawong said, adding that Dupre would not face the death penalty under the terms of the extradition.
“We have ensured that there is security in Thailand and uphold our reputation that this country is safe to live in,” he said.
An Alberta court approved Dupre’s extradition last December.
