Tuesday, July 19, 2011 | 11:58 a.m.
A Thai national made his initial appearance Monday in federal court in Las Vegas following his arrest at McCarran International Airport on criminal charges for allegedly transporting child pornography, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
Manu Panatkul, 51, was taken into custody Friday night by agents with the agency's Homeland Security Investigations Division shortly after arriving on a Korean Airlines flight from Thailand. The arrest came after the retired biology teacher was referred for secondary inspection by officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to a criminal complaint, customs officers’ search of Panatkul’s belongings resulted in the discovery of 36 digital video discs. A preliminary analysis of three of those discs by federal forensics specialists showed they contained videos of child pornography, including depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexual conduct.
Panatkul is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of transportation of child pornography. At Panatkul’s initial court appearance, U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt ordered him detained pending trial. The transportation charge carries a possible maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who sexually exploit children, and the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood.
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