THE case of the York man accused of drug trafficking in Thailand took a dramatic twist today as his family claimed he had been freed.

Robert Duncan Neilson, 44, had faced the death sentence if convicted of trafficking heroin, cannabis and ketamine.

Reports from Thailand suggested Mr Neilson had been remanded earlier today for 12 days to prison in the Thai town of Pattaya, 120 miles east of Bangkok, following a five-minute court appearance.

But today his brother, Richard, claimed he had heard from Robert who told him that the charges had been dropped down to a minor offence and that Robert had been set free.

Richard Neilson, who also lives in York, said: "I spoke to him on the phone about an hour ago. He rang me from Thailand. He told me he had been arrested and he had been accused of having drugs.

"He said they had let him go and they had lessened the charges to a minor offence. He said he was out and was expecting to be home very shortly.

"I was very relieved to hear he was out. The whole family has been very concerned about his well-being. None of us could believe what he was accused of.

"We are looking forward to seeing him when he gets home. He now has no need to be ashamed of anything.

"We were absolutely staggered when we first heard. We couldn't believe it was true."

When the Evening Press called last night at Robert Neilson's York home, in Bad Bargain Lane, Burnholme, a man who said he was a lodger told us he had gone on holiday to Thailand with his daughter.

He said he did not know what had happened to Robert Neilson. Robert Neilson's next-door neighbour, Nick Jackson, said he was shocked to learn of his arrest.

"I am really shocked. I have only spoken to him once as he kept himself to himself," he said.

"He seemed quite a quiet bloke. You don't expect things like that to happen to people from around here."

Updated: 14:29 Friday, October 17, 2003