The Royal Thai Police had asked for cooperation from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to arrest fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is believed to have remained in his hideaway inside the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"From the latest check, there is no record to confirm that Thaksin has left the UAE," the website by The Nation newspaper on Tuesday quoted police spokesman Lt. General Watcharaphol Prasanratchakit as saying.

Police had already contacted the Interpol counterpart in the UAE to identify Thaksin's whereabouts and arrest him, Watcharaphol said.

He also confirmed that the police review was close to complete for the recommendation to strip Thaksin's police rank of Lt. Colonel since he was a criminal convict for conflict of interest.

Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September, 2006, in accusation of corruption, and kept in exile since then. Thaksin returned to Thailand in February, 2008, to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.