A fugitive German accused of being a paedophile in his homeland was arrested in Thailand on Tuesday.

The suspected sex offender, identified by police only as 'Mike', 32, had reportedly posed as an 18-year-old and lured minors onto a chat app, where he allegedly distributed child pornography.

He was wanted in Germany on a warrant issued by the Hamburg court for various offences including child sexual abuse, production, distribution, and dissemination of explicit content involving minors, and coercion of children under the age of 14 to engage in sexual activity.

However, he had allegedly fled to Thailand in 2019 before he could be arrested.

The Thai Immigration Bureau, acting on a notice from the German Embassy, launched an investigation into Mike's whereabouts.

Officers tracked him down and arrested him at a house in northern Chiang Mai province where he was living with his Thai girlfriend on November 7.

In a press conference on November 8, Police General Surachet Hakphan, deputy national police chief, announced the arrest.

He said: 'The Immigration Bureau conducted an investigation and found that the German man had entered Thailand on December 15, 2019, on a temporary visa (NON-90) valid until September 16, 2023. The Immigration Bureau has revoked his visa.'

Mike was detained in police custody and is set to be extradited to Germany to face charges, while the Thai woman was fined for harboring a fugitive and not reporting his location to authorities.

Southeast Asia has become a notorious magnet for foreign paedophiles but authorities across the region have begun tightening regulations while working with charities to prevent abuse.