Hua Hin court sentences Irish fugitive to 18 years after posing as dead man
An Irish mafia figure has been jailed for 18 years after posing as a dead man and secretly entering and leaving Thailand 28 times while evading drug and money-laundering charges abroad.
The Hua Hin Provincial Court sentenced Irish national Paul Noel Casey to 218 months in prison, or about 18 years, for forging and using a fake passport and for offences under Thailand’s Immigration Act. The ruling followed a lengthy investigation that uncovered how Casey used the identity of a deceased person to travel undetected for years.
Pol. Col. Naruwat Phutthawiro, superintendent of Surat Thani Immigration, said the court delivered its verdict in case number A51/2569 after nearly two years of legal proceedings.
Fugitive used dead man’s identity to travel in and out of Thailand
Investigators said Casey assumed the identity of Alan Murray, an Irish citizen who died in 2016. Using his own photograph but Murray’s personal details, he successfully applied for a passport in 2014.
Authorities believe the document allowed Casey to move freely across borders while avoiding detection by law enforcement agencies searching for him in connection with drug trafficking and money-laundering offences.
According to investigators, Casey first entered Thailand using the fraudulent passport in 2015. Over the following years, he lived primarily on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province and travelled in and out of Thailand at least 28 times using the false identity.
The investigation began after immigration officers in Surat Thani and Prachuap Khiri Khan received information from foreign media reports and members of the Irish community on Koh Phangan suggesting that a man resembling a drug trafficking suspect wanted in Australia was living on the island.
Thai authorities then coordinated with the Australian Federal Police to verify the suspect’s identity. Fingerprint data collected in Thailand was compared with records in the Australian criminal database, confirming that the man using the name Alan Murray was in fact Paul Noel Casey.
Casey had originally been wanted by Australian authorities since 2013 after failing to appear in court to face drug trafficking and money-laundering charges.
Police later traced him to Hua Hin, where he was arrested at a hotel on 11 August 2024. During the investigation, authorities also discovered that he had overstayed his visa by 446 days and had provided false information to officials.
After reviewing the evidence, the Hua Hin Provincial Court ruled that Casey had committed multiple offences related to passport forgery and immigration violations. The court sentenced him to 218 months in prison.
Once Casey completes his prison sentence in Thailand, Australian authorities are expected to request his extradition so that he can face trial on the outstanding drug trafficking and money-laundering charges.
