Child porn website based in Chiang Mai busted

Chiang Mai police have arrested the operator of a child pornography website in a raid on his condominium in the northern city.

Police and the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children unit apprehended 24 year old Thai national Korakot Chulthong on Saturday. They also seized seized three mobile phones, a laptop computer, two portable disk drives, bank passbooks and ATM cards.

Korakot was wanted on a warrant for possessing child pornography for sexual and commercial purposes, and for inputting pornographic data into a computer system accessible by other people.

The arrest followed complaints from parents and the public that an online group was distributing video with Thai children and foreigners. The site had 800 members and more than 200,000 followers.

Police say the group was created in Russia and later bought by by Thai investors. Korakot was the administrator. Reviews of more than 100 porn clips were posted on the group.

Customers paid 300 baht each to watch uncensored clips. Police, posing as customers, transferred membership fees and later tracked Korakot to the condominium.

He confessed to the charges, saying he had been running the site for about a year, according to Chiang Mai police.

SOURCE: Chiang Rai Times