Thai court seeks absent Australian witness

BANGKOK, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A Thai court is seeking an Australian witness as part of an investigation of outlaw motorcycle gangs on the resort island of Koh Samui.

Investigators want Eric Riemsdyk, who prepared a 14-page report on the island’s crime, to testify against Briton Crispin Paton-Smith and Dane Kim Lindegaard Neilsen, who are accused of extortion as members of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, the Australian reported Sunday.

Riemsdyk reportedly disappeared from his hotel last week, the night before he was scheduled to appear before the court.

The defendants claim they are simply members of a recreational motorcycle group, but the government alleges they are engaging in extortion and drug trafficking in league with a British crime syndicate.

The group is also accused of selling vacation properties at a 500 percent profit and marketing club drugs to teenagers.