BANGKOK – An American described as a “leading drug lord” with a network spanning Asia and the United States was sent to the U.S. on a chartered plane following his arrest in Thailand, police said Friday.

Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48, was handed to agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at Bangkok’s Don Meaung Airport, Deputy National Police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said.

Hunter and his suspected accomplices — identified as two Britons, a Slovak, a Filipino and a Taiwanese — were arrested Wednesday on the resort island of Phuket during a sting operation launched at the request of the DEA following a lengthy investigation into the suspected drug gang.

According to Thai police, Hunter served in the U.S. Navy, and his alleged accomplices were also believed to have had military training.