Crime

Bangkok Police Vow to Crackdown on Chinese Criminals After 5 Kidnappings

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2023

Bchcomber

As the number of kidnapping and ransom cases increases, the Royal Thai Police have vowed to crackdown on Chinese underhanded dealings in Bangkok. The statement comes after a series of high profile kidnappings in the past few months.

Contents

Five Kidnappings in Bangkok Chinese Student Kidnapped and Killed Criminals Want Untraceable Cryptocurrency

The number of Chinese visitors visiting Thailand has surged since China loosened travel restrictions. Among lawful tourists, some Chinese nationals have entered the country to carry out illicit operations such as kidnapping for ransom, which can escalate to murder in some circumstances.

The chief of investigations for Bangkok ‘s Metropolitan Police, Pol Maj Gen Teeradej Thumsutee, spoke to the Bangkok Post on how the Royal Thai Police is battling the crimes.

He claims that the number of illicit activities is proportional to the number of Chinese tourists who have arrived in Thailand after the government relaxed Covid-19 travel regulations.

Since February 6, the Chinese government has permitted its citizens to travel in groups through travel agents. Over 300,000 Chinese nationals went to Thailand in the first quarter of 2023, according to the government’s public relations department. According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, they were accompanied by some criminals.

Five Kidnappings in Bangkok

He cited five important examples that occurred in Bangkok or under the Bangkok ‘s Metropolitan Police’s jurisdiction.

On March 10, four immigration officers kidnapped a Chinese man and his interpreter, a Thai lady. Four immigration officers allegedly kidnapped them from a residence in Din Daeng and drove them to a house on Soi Pracha Songkhroh 2, also in Din Daeng.

Immigration officers allegedly extorted US$30,000 from them in the Tether stablecoin, which is tethered to the US dollar.

Three Chinese nationals were detained on March 16 for kidnapping a Chinese graduate student and extorting 3.3 million baht from her.

The victim had dinner with a Chinese suspect at an Ekamai restaurant. Following the lunch, she was led to a car park, when one Chinese man forced the victim into the vehicle with a knife. Another Chinese man was in the driver’s seat.

According to reports, as the vehicle drove away, the man with the knife ordered her to send RMB250,000 (1.2 million baht) and 8,000 bitcoin coins via her mobile phone.

Chinese Student Kidnapped and Killed

Jin Can, a 22-year-old student at Bangkok Thonburi University, was kidnapped and murdered in Nonthaburi on March 28.

He claims the student was stabbed five times in the right shoulder and had a towel tied around her neck before she died. The body was discovered in a sack in a Bang Yai district plantation.

Wang Nanfeng, 34, was taken from a condominium in Pathumwan district’s Lumpini neighbourhood on April 14.

Petchlada Sangsakun, 24, her Thai lover Supaphon Halman, and four others are among the suspects. They sought 3.9 million baht in ransom from the victim.

Huang Ding Xuan, 30, was reported missing on April 16. Officers from Bang Phong Phang police station recovered him and discovered he had been kidnapped from a Sathorn hotel, with the kidnappers demanding a ransom of 1.8 million baht.

Despite the fact that some Chinese suspects fled Thailand before arrest warrants were issued, they were eventually extradited to face judicial proceedings in Thailand.

Criminals Want Untraceable Cryptocurrency

According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, the majority of Chinese offenders enter Thailand on tourist visas. They frequently plan their schemes with fellow citizens and approach potential victims through Chinese mobile apps like WeChat.

Criminals contact victims until they discover their daily routine, financial status, and family history.

Most victims are Chinese citizens whose families are considered wealthy by Chinese standards, or those who have a huge amount of cash in their bank accounts as well as a large amount of cryptocurrency worth a lot of money.

For example, the Chinese graduate who had been subjected to extortion had gotten a substantial sum of money from her family. They had just received compensation for land expropriation.

“Thai accomplices work as assistants, facilitating and providing accommodation such as hotels, vehicles, or a location to hide the abductee.” Thai offenders also provide criminal and escape routes out of Thailand,” he adds.

According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, government employees were involved in some cases, issuing fraudulent IDs or other documents.

Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the national police chief, has directed the Immigration Bureau to collaborate with Chinese officials in order to access a criminal database as part of the process of awarding visas on arrival to Chinese nationals.

Thai police will also collect thorough details on Chinese tourists, including hotel addresses, destinations in Thailand, and the names of their companions. Local police can access the records in order to monitor high-risk regions with a high number of Chinese tourists.

According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, police stations in prominent tourist areas have undertaken frequent patrols to collect data and devise ways to combat illegal activity.

The MPB has also deployed surveillance cameras across Bangkok, particularly in congested locations and high-risk regions.

According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, police must support a crackdown on Chinese criminals before they grow into mafia gang activities.

“There will be a significant crackdown on Chinese criminals in areas known to be their haunts, such as Huai Kwang, Thong Lor, and Makkasan,” he added.

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Published

7 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Contents

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.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

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.

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/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Published

7 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourist

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.

Contents

Police called to home invasion Other Bangkok News:Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

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

Published

7 months ago

July 17, 2024

Thomas3940

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.

Contents

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.