A suspected drug runner wanted by Interpol was arrested as police cracked down on narcotics smugglers in Thailand.

Emmanuelle Abbo, 40, had been hiding in Bangkok for more than a year before he was detained on suspicion of international drug smuggling on Tuesday.

Police placed his hotel under surveillance following intelligence that the alleged fugitive was in the Pratunam area.

They arrested him as he was walking home along Phetchaburi Road.

Authorities said he had entered Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa that expire in 2016. He was also accused of shipping nearly 20 kilos (44 lbs) of drugs to the lucrative market in South Korea.

Emmanuelle allegedly admitted he was the subject of the arrest warrant, but denied being involved in the drug trade.

However, a sweep of his room is said to have found stashes of narcotics, ammunition, firearms, and drug paraphernalia.

Police said they seized a 9mm pistol, two modified blank guns, nearly 80 rounds of ammunition and drug paraphernalia. They also found more than 2 grams of crystal meth, a gram of ecstasy and a single green meth pill.

Emmanuelle insisted the drugs belonged to his friends who used his room as a hangout. But a urine test found him positive for methamphetamine.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriya Phuangsombat of Immigration Division 1 said: ‘The suspect admitted that he had previously consumed crystal meth but had not done so for one day.

‘We charged him with overstaying his visa, possessing firearms and ammunition without permission, illegally possessing narcotic category I, and consuming them.

‘We informed him of his rights. He understood as he is fluent in Thai. He was handed over to the inquiry officer for legal proceedings.'

The arrest comes just days after British tourist George Wilson, 23, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamsire, was allegedly caught with 9kg of crystal meth in Bangkok.

He is facing a minimum of 10 years in prison - and at worst, the death penalty - for allegedly trying to smuggle the category one narcotics out of Thailand.