Crime
Hilltribe Women Posing a Pregnant Busted With 21Kg of Raw Opium
On Sunday, police arrested thirteen hilltribe women in Chiang Mai province for allegedly carrying opium. Officers from the northern city’s Mae Ai district police station. Police detained a pickup truck leaving an alley near a nearby school after receiving a tip.
In the back of the pickup there were 13 hilltribe women who, according to authorities, acted suspiciously. They appeared pregnant, with bulging bellies. A female police officer’s body search revealed packs of raw opium stashed in their pants.
Each of the 13 women carried an opium bag weighing 1.64 kilogrammes. The 13 packs weighed 21.32 kilogrammes. The woman and the driver were both charged with possessing the second type of narcotic (opium) with the intent to sell.
According to police, the suspects confessed to obtaining the opium from a hilltribe village in Tha Tonne sub-district of Chiang Mai Province.
Opium is cultivated illegally by hilltribes in northern Thailand. The cultivation of opium by these hilltribes has been a longstanding practice. This illicit activity has attracted the attention of authorities due to its impact on the local community and the region.
The production and distribution of opium by these hilltribes have led to various social and economic issues that need to be addressed. The hilltribes involved in opium cultivation face challenges in transitioning to alternative sources of income.
Efforts are being made to provide support and resources to help these communities shift away from opium cultivation towards more sustainable livelihoods. The government is working to combat the production and distribution of opium in the region to address the associated issues effectively.
Hill Tribe people in Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand is well-known for its Hilltribe villages, which are a major draw for visitors interested in learning about and experiencing their culture and way of life. Just a few minutes outside Chiang Mai city, you’ll find yourself in villages where Thai is no longer the primary language and people look and dress differently, which is one of the many benefits of seeing this incredible region of the world.
Thailand currently has six major ethnic Hilltribe groups, as well as several minor tribes and subgroups, and the great majority of them work as farmers in the highlands. Life is not always simple for these ethnic groups, with many being classified as ‘outsiders’, denied full citizenship rights, and lacking full ownership rights to their land despite having lived in the region for hundreds of years or more. However, many Hill Tribe settlements share a genuine friendliness and openness to tourists, as well as the tough and stoic attitude that so many mountain people around the world possess.
Karen People
The Karen people in Northern Thailand, can be found throughout the north of Thailand and as far south as the mountains of Kaeng Krachan, all the way to Bangkok. Karen people are divided into four main subgroups: ‘White’, ‘Red’, ‘Pa-o’, and ‘Kayah’, each with their unique language, culture, and customs.
Karen settlements can be found all throughout Chiang Rai’s mountains, and while they used to conduct slash and burn agriculture, they are now in the forefront of developing more environmentally sustainable farming practices.
Karen villages are often very open to guests, eager to share their story and culture, and spending a night or two in a Karen community, sitting around the fire, sharing food and tales, and learning about life in the mountains, is an unforgettable Northern Thailand experience.
Many people identify Karen people with ‘long neck’ Paduang ladies. These women are Karen, however they represent only a small portion of the ethnic community. While many tourists want to visit a ‘long neck’ village, please treat the women with respect and not as zoo exhibits.
Akha
The Akha people are one of Thailand’s best-known Hill Tribes, with an estimated 70-80,000 people living in the mountains. The Akha traditional attire is highly vibrant, with great headpiece, and it is wonderful to see it worn in a small village high in the highlands.
Historically, the Akha people were primarily connected with opium cultivation in Northern Thailand, but with this practice mostly abolished, they have successfully shifted to farming a variety of commodities, including some of Thailand’s best coffee.
Lahu
The Lahu people are a fairly diversified group with numerous sub-groups and cultures spread across South East Asia’s mountainous regions. With approximately 60,000 Lahu people in Thailand, they primarily live in the higher highlands of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, generally in more rural communities away from roads and towns.
The Lahu are primarily subsistence farmers, but they are also noted for their hunting and warfare skills. The Lahu people adhere to stringent community standards, respect village elders, and maintain a high level of gender equality throughout the community.
Lisu
The Lisu people are originated from Tibet. Under pressure from the Chinese government and in search of land to let them to practise their culture freely, they went south to Myanmar and then into Thailand. The Lisu people venerate both their ancestors and spirits.
The Lisu people prefer to live in villages above 1,000 metres, and communities are frequently located near mountain summits or at the base of falls.
There are an estimated 50,000 Lisu people living in the highlands of Northern Thailand.
Hmong
The first Hmong people in Thailand were created in the early nineteenth century after they fled China due to strife with the Han Chinese, and they can now be found throughout much of northern Thailand. With numerous sub-groups, they were previously connected with opium farming, which has since been supplanted by other cash crops such as cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, and strawberries.
There are extensive Hmong communities in Chiang Mai province, particularly above Wat Doi Suthep and around Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest peak.
Yao
The Yao people, like many other Hilltribe tribes, moved from China and arrived in Thailand in the early nineteenth century. They have settlements throughout the North, but are most prevalent in Chiang Rai province, where many fled persecution by the Pathet Lao dictatorship in the 1970s after supporting the US in the Laos civil war.
While the Yao people mainly adhere to the Buddhist way of life, they also incorporate old animist ideas into their practice of Buddhism.
There are approximately 40,000 Yao people in Thailand today, distributed among 200 or so small settlements.
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.
Related News:
Thailand’s Cyber Crime Police Raid Top Cops Home Over Gambling Websites
Thailand’s Cyber Crime Police Raid Top Cops Home Over Gambling Websites
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