A British man who was allegedly behind a vile porn site branded racist for collecting local women in tuk tuks before paying them for sex has been arrested in Thailand.

Benjamin John Wilkinson, 40, was detained by officers as he allegedly tried to flee the country through the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on December 7. He is facing up to five years in prison.

Pictures show the Brit in a grey hoodie being pulled aside by armed police and immigration officers in the departure area. He was handcuffed and led away to a waiting police truck.

Officers said the arrest came as part of a crackdown on adult content creators living in the country while making amateur videos for websites such as OnlyFans and PornHub. The man in the green t-shirt in the video is a German who was allegedly involved in a different site to the Brit.

Police believe that Benjamin was running a premium site called Tuk Tuk Patrol. He rented the tuk tuks - a classic motorised vehicle synonymous with the country - before recording himself picking up local women. He then recorded them having sex.

Officers said the site used racial tropes of Southeast Asian women willing to be exploited by Western men - an image that they have been trying to shake off since American GIs were based in the country in the 1950s.

The alleged site owner had previously boasted online that he was 'crazy about Asians' and 'loved the independence that running that site has brought'. He then bragged the site was 'profitable' compared with others in the West and that he 'targeted amateurs'.

The operator said he would 'keep making the videos for as long as he still enjoyed it' and dismissed stories of foreign men being arrested for similar offenses as 'hogwash'.

But Benjamin has now been remanded in custody on suspicion of producing pornography and breaking the country's strict computer laws.

Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej from the Central Investigation Bureau said: 'The suspect Benjamin John Wilkinson from the United Kingdom ran a website called Tuk Tuk Patrol.

'The content creator would invite Thai women to sit in a tuk tuk and then take them to have sex in various tourist areas such as the Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok and in Pattaya and Phuket.

'He would advertise his site on X and publish the videos on his own website. When questioned about the initial evidence, the arrested person denied the charges, saying that he was the one who filmed the clips, but would forward them to a friend abroad to post the information.

'Even recording the videos is illegal as it is producing pornography. When Benjamin was questioned more, he did not cooperate with officers. We asked about how he operated the website but he would not say.

'We found that the videos were racist, offensive and dangerous for local women. They created an image that foreigners can come to Thailand and take young women from the street to use for their pleasure.'

Police said that the suspect denied the charges and claimed he had filmed pornographic videos to send to a friend abroad. He claimed the friend was responsible for uploading videos to the Tu Tuk Patrol website.

Authorities said that three other foreign men who made adult content for different sites including OnlyFans were also arrested during the sweeping raids. They also publicised their videos on X.

They included German man Volker Matthias Graul, 48, Serbian national Zvezdan Stojanov, 32, and Russian Andrei Gerbennikov, 34, who were all living in the country and allegedly working illegally.

Three Thai women Thanasil Sathantip, 30, Saengthien Wongkaew, 26, and Rattana Ritthiprat, 36, were also arrested for taking part in various videos connected to the suspect. All of them reportedly admitted the charges except for the German suspect.

Lieutenant General Jirabho added: 'Though being a sex creator may be legal in other countries, it is illegal in Thailand. The suspects not only violated Thai law but also tarnished the country's reputation, and their actions might be linked to human trafficking or forced labour.

'All suspects were handed over to the inquiry officer of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division for further legal action. They are being interrogated further.'

Under Section 287(1) of Thailand's Criminal Code, adults more than 18 years old who appear in pornography for trade, import, production, or distribution may face up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht (1,380 GBP), or both.

They may also be charged for violating Section 14(4) of the Computer Crime Act for 'importing obscene data into a computer system accessible to the general public'. The offence carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to 100,000 baht (2,300 GBP), or both.

(1 GBP = 43.45 THB)