Australian gets death penalty over Hells Angels murder in Thailand

Australian man Antonio Bagnato has been found guilty and sentenced to death by a Thai court for his role in the 2015 abduction and murder of Hells Angels gang member Wayne Schneider.

The judge, at the Pattaya criminal court, read the verdict to a packed court room today.

Bagnato, who appeared before the court in prison clothes and leg irons, had pleaded not guilty to the November 2015 abduction and murder of Schneider at a luxury villa apartment at Pattaya, 150 kilometres from Bangkok.

Thai police alleged Bagnato was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of Schneider.

Schneider's naked body was found in a shallow sandy grave in Sattahip province in Chonburi, 30 kilometres from the villa.

Thai police said conflicts over a multi-million dollar drug network extending from Europe to Asia lay behind the killing.