Fugitives lived like tourists in Phuket

MANILA, Philippines - While they were hunted on murder charges in the Philippines, brothers Joel and Mario Reyes lived liked tourists in Rawai, a seafront village on the southern tip of Phuket, Thailand, police said yesterday.

Joel, a former Palawan governor, and his brother Mario, former Coron mayor, lived in a villa and used a white sport utility vehicle to move around the island.

Police said Joel used the alias Johnny Leong while Mario used the name Nicky.

On Sunday night, the law finally caught up with them as members of the Thai immigration office raided the house and arrested them for overstaying.

The arrest came after an unnamed informant tipped off the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) about their presence in Rawai.

CIDG director Chief Supt. Victor Deona said the brothers were not handcuffed on their flight home as Thai immigration officers and a five-man PNP team escorted them.

Deona told reporters that the Reyes brothers left the Philippines in 2012 before the court could issue the warrants for their arrest and the International Police (Interpol) post a red notice.

He added that while the PNP had several leads on where the brothers were hiding, it only led to dead ends.

But on Feb. 4, Deona said a break finally came as the Royal Embassy of Thailand communicated with its Philippine counterpart to confirm the entry of the Reyes brothers into Thailand.

He added that the biggest break came last Sept. 8 when an anonymous informant communicated with the CIDG through email to point to the exact location of the fugitives, including the description of the villa and the vehicles they used.

Deona said the e-mail was forwarded to the CIDG Special Operations Unit, which started a series of e-mail exchanges with the informant from Sept. 8 to 15.

“There was an exchange of email because the informant was reluctant. In one of his emails, he said he needs somebody whom he really can trust,” he added.

Deona said the CIDG then assigned an officer to talk with the informant and gain his trust through a series of private e-mails and telephone conversations.

He added that the informant would later reveal that the Reyes brothers were in Rawai, a seafront village at the southern portion of Phuket.

“After we completed the information, we sent these to Interpol Thailand. Fortunately, one of the Thai police is a classmate of one of my officers who took up classes in Japan. After we sent the intelligence packet on Sept. 18, the Thai police together with Interpol provided us with photos of the house and confirmed the (Ford) Ecosport was being used by the Reyes brothers,” said Deona.

He added that the Interpol photos were sent to the informant for confirmation and that it was only after this that the Royal Thai Police and Interpol, on Sept. 20, moved to arrest the brothers for violating Thailand’s immigration laws.

“By 2 p.m. of Sept. 20 they sent an email saying ‘we got them’ and then they sent photos of the Reyes brothers showing that they have been arrested,” said Deona.

When confronted by the Thai police, he added, Mario made the mistake of showing his old Philippine passport that was already cancelled by the Department of Foreign Affairs, while Joel showed a medical record in the name of “Johnny Leong.”

“Because of that they were arrested for overstaying,” Deona said.

He added that the informant has yet to collect the bounty for the arrest of the fugitive brothers, who each carried a P2-million reward.