The family of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was found in a suitcase in Pattaya said they were devastated by her death, for which an Australian man has been arrested and charged with murder.

A man from Ballarat is in custody after the body of a teenage girl was found in a suitcase in Thailand.

The 46-year-old was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to board a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to the Nation Thailand