A former Scottish football coach accused of sexually abusing children who fled abroad to escape justice has been detained in Vietnam by police acting on an Interpol ‘red notice’ arrest warrant.

The suspect has been named as Kenneth Divers, 77, and he was taken into custody by police in Hoi An, which is a city in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province, on Tuesday, 18th January.

The red notice is the closest thing to an international arrest warrant and authorises police worldwide to share physical details, photographs and fingerprints of the wanted person as well as details of the charges they face.

The suspect is not being questioned over any potential incidents that might have taken place in Vietnam, but is instead wanted over alleged offences committed in Scotland in the 1960s and in the 1970s.

The British Embassy in Vietnam announced the arrest on its Facebook page, saying: “A 77-year-old man has been arrested in connection with non-recent sexual offences against children. The man was arrested in Vietnam under an Interpol Red Notice on Tuesday, 18th January 2022.

“This was carried out by officers from the Office of Investigation Police Agency, Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, supported by the National Crime Agency at the request of Police Scotland. Arrangements are under way to transport him back to Scotland.”

Detective Superintendent Alan Henderson is quoted in the statement as saying: “We are grateful to the authorities in Vietnam and our colleagues at the National Crime Agency for their assistance with this matter.”

The arrest comes after Scottish and European arrest warrants were issued in 2016 following accusations that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted young boys on multiple occasions.

Divers, who reportedly worked as a teacher at a secondary school and as a youth football coach in the UK, is expected to be extradited to the United Kingdom in the near future to face the charges.