Crime
Locals Worry Foreign Gangs Taking Over Phuket, Thailand
The Phuket hospitality sector is pleading with the government to address the issue of foreign mafia gangs expanding their economic operations on the tourist island. Tourism Industry leaders are worried that foreigners are abusing the rules to operate their own enterprises and take employment intended for locals.
The founder of Kata Group Resorts, Mr. Pramookpisitt Achariyachai, said that some foreigners were breaking the law by working in positions that were only open to Thais during a recent discussion regarding tourism-related concerns in the three Andaman provinces.
According to Mr. Pramookpisitt, businesses being handled by groups of foreigners include taxi services and lodging. Some foreigners rent villas and condo units that were abandoned during the Covid-19 outbreak and then rent them out again to their fellow citizens.
He said, “They were largely Russians in Phuket.”
Phuket residents have also voiced their opposition to a group of international motorcycle gangs. Mr. Pramookpisitt worries that international mafia organizations could seize control of the island, as happened in Pattaya a few decades ago.
He has strongly urged Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, minister of tourism and sports, to address these issues. who said that officials would look into the situation in Phuket.
He asserted that most Thais would not put up with attempts by foreigners to take their employment. The incident will be investigated by authorities from several agencies, and the prime minister has also directed the Phuket Police to crack down on it.
In addition, the Minister noted that the infrastructure in the three Andaman provinces of Phuket, Krabi, and Phangnga is lacking. Both locals and visitors lament the lack of public transportation, the poor condition of the roads, and the heavy traffic, particularly in Phuket.
Even if the tourism industry is beginning to recover, low occupancy rates among small hotels in several well-known tourist locations are a cause for concern. He said, the Andaman provinces are a major draw for tourists in the south. The three provinces will be marketed as the “Andaman Triangle” by the ministry.
It will market Phuket as the triangle’s focal point and Phangnga and Krabi as eco-tourist-oriented low-carbon city attractions. The ministry will advertise Krabi’s Khlong Thom district as a spa destination due to the area’s well-known natural hot springs.
In the meantime, Phuket is vying to organize a specialized international exhibition with the slogan “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity” to advertise the island as a major medical hub, he continued.
For the right to hold Specialized Expo 2027/2028, the province is vying against four American cities as well as Serbia, Spain, and Argentina.
Immigration police detain man from China
A Chinese man’s visa has been cancelled by immigration police due to his alleged participation in a dubious business network in Thailand.
On Friday night in Bangkok’s Suan Plu district, police detained Mr. Yu Xinqi, the head of the Shaanxi Association, to the Immigration Bureau’s office. He was purportedly the founder of an unregistered Chinese organisation and a business school that lured Chinese nationals into Thailand illegally.
Police discovered Mr. Yu’s unlawful behaviour regarding the formation of an unlicensed group or an illegal one, according to Immigration Bureau Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat Sajjaphan, who announced Mr. Yu’s detention under the Immigration Act on Friday.
His visa has already been cancelled by the Immigration Bureau.
The head of the Immigration Bureau claims that Mr. Yu entered the kingdom two years ago on a retirement visa. Thereafter, he applied for permission to stay in Chon Buri province for an additional year under immigration requirements.
Foreign nationals who want to stay in Thailand and are 50 years old or older are granted this sort of visa.
Inspections revealed that Mr. Yu submitted a bank statement to authorities in order to apply for the retirement visa in accordance with the correct immigration procedures. A bank statement showing at least 800,000 baht must be presented by the applicant, or they must have a monthly income of at least 65,000 baht and a 12-month income of at least 800,000 baht.
According to police, no arrest warrant has been filed and no charges have yet been brought against Mr. Yu.
Police detectives were interviewing the Chinese man for information. The Immigration Bureau commissioner stated that specifics could not be revealed. While being removed from his home in Bangkok, Mr. Yu cooperated fully with the police.
Authorities were looking into claims made against him to see if he had any involvement in money-laundering, illegal drug trades, or other unlawful enterprises.
Mr. Yu briefly addressed reporters as he was being brought to the Immigration Bureau headquarters “It’s Alright. Not to worry; I know a little bit of Thai.” According to accounts, the suspect was not shackled as he was led to a police van on Friday.
Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.
Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.
According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.
Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.
His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.
During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.
The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.
She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.
Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.
The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.
The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.
Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.
He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.
Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.
On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.
His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.
Related Police News:
Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/
Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.
Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).
According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.
He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.
Police called to home invasion
Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.
When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.
They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.
While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.
Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.
The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.
Other Bangkok News:
Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel
Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel
Crime
Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network
The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.
Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.
Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).
Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.
Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.
According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.
Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.
Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.
According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.
According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.
Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.
But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.
The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.
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Thailand’s Cyber Crime Police Raid Top Cops Home Over Gambling Websites
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