Crime News

Thailand crime news, breaking reports, investigations, and law enforcement updates—stay informed on drug trafficking, cybercrime, corruption, and public safety developments. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for crime news in Thailand.

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    Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you

    Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...

  • From Pattaya with Love, or How To Win Friends and Taser People!

    From Pattaya with Love, or How To Win Friends and Taser People!

    A training session held last week on Wednesday, June 22, on Jomtien Beach has convinced anyone that public relations are not a strong characteristic in the ranks of the Pattaya Police. Thanks to Adam and The Pattaya News for the video and pics. The display was an apparent demonstration of the skills of Pattaya police to be able to handle…

  • Thai woman confesses to beating 6 year old granddaughter to death with pestle

    Thai woman confesses to beating 6 year old granddaughter to death with pestle

    Today, a 47 year old Thai woman confessed to hitting her 6 year old granddaughter’s head with a pestle until she died on Wednesday, June 22, in Pathum Thani province in central Thailand. On Wednesday night, police received a report that a 6 year old girl had died inside a rented room in Som Khok District in Pathum Thani province.…

  • Man stabs 4 in New Zealand

    Man stabs 4 in New Zealand

    A violent attack has gripped New Zealand after a man stabbed 4 people in a neighbourhood in Auckland yesterday. All 4 suffered moderate injuries, according to a police commander. But locals didn’t cave in to the attacker. Waitematā District commander Superintendent Naila Hassan, told the press that neighbours jumped in to follow and surround the culprit after he started stabbing…

  • Thai police say they support new approach to drug abuse in Phuket and beyond

    Thai police say they support new approach to drug abuse in Phuket and beyond

    Thai police say they are supporting a new approach to drug abuse, following an anti-drug campaign event in Phuket yesterday. The deputy inspector general of Royal Thai Police said the campaign in Phuket’s town of Karon follows a nationwide shift in the country to get drug users treatment instead of jail time. Karon’s police chief said at the event that…

  • 8 Burmese allegedly confess to murder of Thai man

    8 Burmese allegedly confess to murder of Thai man

    Eight illegal Burmese immigrants have allegedly confessed to the murder of a Thai man in the Hat Yai district of Songkla province in the south of Thailand. The suspects allegedly admitted to the murder of Maddol Binson because he extorted money from them and tried to kidnap a woman from the group. The body of the 40 year old, a…

  • The great Thai cannabis mass-debate – July’s censure motions

    The great Thai cannabis mass-debate – July’s censure motions

    So what is the main topic for debate in next month’s censure motions directed at the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and 10 ministers in the Thai parliament? The handling of the Covid pandemic? Problems with the economy? The new motions to change Thailand’s marriage laws? No, the opposition will be going after the government for their botched cannabis decriminalisation and…

  • UPDATE: Fraudulent Japanese restaurant owner denied bail

    UPDATE: Fraudulent Japanese restaurant owner denied bail

    UPDATE: Fraudulent Japanese restaurant owner denied bail The court denied the owner of Daruma Sushi’s request for bail this afternoon after he was arrested by police at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday. Police say “Metha” has caused millions of baht in damages and has countless allegations against him. The 39 year old owner of Daruma Sushi – Metha Chalingsook – got into…

  • Teen girl commits suicide after being allegedly blackmailed over naked pictures

    Teen girl commits suicide after being allegedly blackmailed over naked pictures

    A teenage girl has committed suicide after a man allegedly blackmailed her over some naked pictures. The man, in central Thailand’s province of Pathum Thani, was arrested this morning in connection with the suicide and for allegedly blackmailing other teenage girls online. The 27 year old man, Piyabutr Urai-ngam, reportedly lured the 14 year old girl into sending him naked…

  • 4 suspects in wildlife trade arrested across Thailand

    4 suspects in wildlife trade arrested across Thailand

    Environmental police arrested 4 suspected wildlife traders today in several provinces across Thailand. The Nonthaburi Provincial Court ordered arrest warrants for the group on June 14 on charges of colluding in illegal trading in wildlife and illegal possession of protected wild animals. Officers from Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression searched spots in Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya, and…

  • Police arrest 2 Iranian men for scamming people in Thailand

    Police arrest 2 Iranian men for scamming people in Thailand

    Police arrested 2 Iranian nationals today in Chanthaburi province, eastern Thailand. The men allegedly scammed people out of money on at least 2 occasions in Samut Songkhram province, southwest of Bangkok. The men would ask people to exchange banknotes, but then snatch the victim’s money and run off without giving anything in return. The 24 year old man and 32…

  • Phuket homeowner checks CCTV to find foreign couple canoodling outside house

    Phuket homeowner checks CCTV to find foreign couple canoodling outside house

    A Thai woman away in Germany was lost for words on Tuesday when she checked her Phuket home’s CCTV camera footage to see a foreign couple – a man and woman – having sex in front of her house. Homeowner Waralak Frisch often resides in Germany with her husband, so she installed security cameras to check on the safety of…

  • Fight between ex-husband and new man attracts 50 police to ER in Chiang Mai

    Fight between ex-husband and new man attracts 50 police to ER in Chiang Mai

    A fight between a woman’s ex-husband and her new man brought chaos to an emergency room at a Chiang Mai hospital last night, so much that 50 officers arrived on the scene to sort things out. The storm began brewing between the men when the woman and her new partner went to her ex’s house to ask him to return…

  • Thailand’s former PM Thaksin compares marijuana to opium

    Thailand’s former PM Thaksin compares marijuana to opium

    Thailand’s former PM Thaksin Shinawatra is the latest to weigh in on the “happy plant.” In a video address to Thais last night, Thaksin compared marijuana to opium, warning that people need “proper science and education.” He said that when opium first came on the scene, it also had many properties that people used it for, however, it was used…

  • Japanese restaurant owner makes slippery getaway

    Japanese restaurant owner makes slippery getaway

    The owner of a popular Japanese buffet restaurant, Daruma Sushi, made a slippery getaway from Thailand last week leaving a trail of chaos behind and complaints from over 500 people. A number of those people had lodged fraudulent complaints against the owner with the police and the consumer protection agency. The owner disappeared a day before he closed all 27…

  • Jealous policeman murders wife and daughter before committing suicide

    Jealous policeman murders wife and daughter before committing suicide

    A police lieutenant driven by a jealous rage murdered his wife and teenage daughter before committing suicide. Officers from Tung Kru Police Station were called to a resident’s home, in Soi Pracha Uthit 54 in Bangkok, yesterday morning and found the body of 57 year old Pongsakorn Thawekaew and his 39 year old wife, Benjawan Wuttisarn, in one bedroom, and…

  • Thai police given new power to arrest fine-avoiding motorists

    Thai police given new power to arrest fine-avoiding motorists

    A new regulation has given power to the Royal Thai Police to arrest people who fail to pay their driving penalties on time. Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek, says if motorists do not pay their fines, a warrant for their arrest will be filed. If a motorist receives a ticket, either in person…

  • Foreigner stabbed in Pattaya refuses hospital treatment

    Foreigner stabbed in Pattaya refuses hospital treatment

    An unidentified foreign man was stabbed near Walking Street in Pattaya in the early hours of yesterday morning. Despite bleeding heavily, the man refused to get his wounds treated at hospital. He refused to explain what happened or give personal details to the police. Eyewitnesses told police that a physical fight broke out between two foreign men who had been…

  • Bangkok man steals gold valued at 2 million baht after his crypto stash tanked

    Bangkok man steals gold valued at 2 million baht after his crypto stash tanked

    The impact of the crypto crisis is rearing its head in Bangkok. Yesterday, a man stole necklaces valued at 2 million baht from a gold shop in Phra Nakhon district of Thailand’s capital city. The man entered the gold shop before pulling out a gun, waving it at staff and customers. The shop’s owner, staff, and customers all fled to…

  • Thailand’s Criminal Court issues warrants for alleged Taiwan murder accomplices

    Thailand’s Criminal Court issues warrants for alleged Taiwan murder accomplices

    The Thai man who murdered a pregnant woman and her husband in Taiwan might not have acted alone. Thailand’s Criminal Court has now issued arrest warrants for 2 alleged accomplices. Now, police from the Crime Suppression Division are on the hunt for the 2 alleged partners in crime. This news comes after the prime suspect, 35 year old “Santi”, handed…

  • Phuket teens promised cash prizes for anti-drug slogans

    Phuket teens promised cash prizes for anti-drug slogans

    Cash prizes might be a new way to motivate Phuket’s youngsters to stay off drugs. Or make a new way to bring up the topic and discuss it in a more positive environment. Teens and pre-teens in Phuket’s Kathu district have been invited to compete for the best anti-drug slogan. The grand prize winner who comes up with the best…

  • ‘Travellers’ caught smuggling cocaine worth millions of baht to Phuket and Bangkok

    ‘Travellers’ caught smuggling cocaine worth millions of baht to Phuket and Bangkok

    The big bad international criminals Thai police warned of earlier this month have made their way to Bangkok and Phuket. Four ‘travellers’ have been caught smuggling cocaine valued at millions of baht into Phuket and Bangkok in the past 2 weeks. A South African man allegedly smuggled in 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, valued at 4.5 million baht, to Phuket International…

  • Thai hackers target high-ranking official in 200,000 baht swindle

    Thai hackers target high-ranking official in 200,000 baht swindle

    Cyber police yesterday swooped to arrest a Thai hacker group who targeted a high-ranking government official in a more than 200,000 baht swindle. The cyber punks managed to gain access to a Facebook account belonging to former government official, Suthee Pattanayongyot, who used to serve the Judiciary of Thailand. One of the hackers, Somchai Saenthilert, pretended to be Suthee, contacted…

  • Influencers from controversial Lazada ad arrested on suspicion of lèse majesté

    Influencers from controversial Lazada ad arrested on suspicion of lèse majesté

    Yesterday, police arrested three Thai influencers on suspicion of lèse majesté – or insulting the monarchy – in relation to their role in a controversial Lazada advert which shocked the Thai nation last month. In Thailand, lèse majesté is a criminal offence punishable by 3 to 15 years for each count. Police arrested the 3 influencers who starred in the…

  • Police arrest suspects in illegal lending network across Thailand

    Police arrest suspects in illegal lending network across Thailand

    Police across Thailand have arrested 29 alleged members of an online illegal lending network. Police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division said small-business operators filed a complaint that they had borrowed money from the website, and were charged unusually high interest rates. When the business operators couldn’t make the payments, the websites’ operators sent men to intimidate them, according to…

  • Domestic violence victim allegedly confesses to conspiracy to murder

    Domestic violence victim allegedly confesses to conspiracy to murder

    A victim of domestic violence allegedly confessed to a conspiracy to murder charge on her arrest yesterday. The woman, Charoensri Thongkham, allegedly admitted to hiring a hitman to kill her husband because she couldn’t take any more of his violent abuse and long string of affairs. The 41 year old woman told police she had lived with her husband for…

  • Thai tourist robbed of more than 65,000 baht in assets in Pattaya

    Thai tourist robbed of more than 65,000 baht in assets in Pattaya

    A 24 year old woman was robbed while on a vacation with her family on Koh Larn Island in Pattaya. Nantapak Saelim’s shoulder bag containing over 65,000 baht in cash and jewellery was stolen from outside of her Airbnb holiday home on Friday night while she was inside the accommodation with her husband and 2 daughters. The Thai woman admitted…

  • Policeman shot dead on duty in central Thailand

    Policeman shot dead on duty in central Thailand

    A group of teenagers on motorbikes fatally shot a policeman on duty in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand, in the early hours of yesterday morning. One 18 year old man admits to firing a gun in the direction of the policeman, but isn’t sure if it was the shot that killed him. Commander-in-chief Anan Orsuwan went to Soi Erawan 12…

  • Brother of pregnant Thai woman murdered in Taiwan demands justice

    Brother of pregnant Thai woman murdered in Taiwan demands justice

    The brother of a Thai woman murdered in Taiwan is calling on police to catch the killer. Thirty-eight year old Yingyot Sae Li said the man who murdered his sister and her husband had been very close to his family, and grew up in the same village as them. His sister, Potjanee, had been 5 pregnant with twins when the…

  • Police step up search for minister’s missing father

    Police step up search for minister’s missing father

    Police stepped up a search for the missing father of a government minister charged with land encroachment by Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission. Soonthorn Vilawan, father of Deputy Education Minister Kanokwan Vilawan, is allegedly on the run after failing to turn up in court on Thursday to face charges of forest encroachment. The NACC told media Thursday the anti-graft watchdog had…

  • Thailand’s new cannabis laws, yes, but no, but yes…

    Thailand’s new cannabis laws, yes, but no, but yes…

    The reports of Thailand’s reformed cannabis laws have reached the far corners of the earth, being reported in the BBC, on CNN, Fox News, Australia’s ABC… well everywhere really. But once readers get past the headline the nitty gritty paints a more nuanced story about exactly what the recent ‘legalisation’ actually means. “People in Thailand can now grow cannabis plants…