Nicolaides was arrested at the Bangkok airport on 31 August 2008 while preparing to board a plane to Australia, apparently unaware of a March arrest warrant.[5]
Wearing shackles and handcuffs on 19 January 2009, the day of the trial, Nicolaides told reporters that he would like to apologise and that he had "unqualified respect for the king of Thailand" and had not intended to insult him.[5] He added "I was aware there were obscure laws (about the monarchy) but I didn't think they would apply to me."[6]
He pleaded guilty and due to this confession a six year prison sentence was reduced to three years, the minimum sentence under the law.[6]
He later described the harsh conditions in the Bangkok Remand Prison, relating that he had met the suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and the Canadian child molester Christopher Neil there.[7][8][9]