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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    Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run

    Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...

  • “Mega rich” Bangkok father and daughter arrested in Bahrain trafficking case | Thaiger

    “Mega rich” Bangkok father and daughter arrested in Bahrain trafficking case

    Two members of a wealthy Bangkok family were arrested on warrants for human trafficking earlier this week. The father and daughter, 54 year old Wiraya and 37 year old Wachi, allegedly started recruiting women to work in Bahrain in 2015, saying they would give traditional Thai massages. Instead, the women were forced into sex slavery. Some of the women escaped,…

  • Governor to drain the swamp with Bangkok’s criminal fraternity | Thaiger

    Governor to drain the swamp with Bangkok’s criminal fraternity

    Chadchart Sittipunt made over 200 pledges prior to his landslide election victory last Sunday with the economy, environment, and health, high on his list of priorities. And when the Bangkok governor-elect vowed to clean up the metropolis, he wasn’t kidding. The 56 year old’s four-year term as governor began in earnest this week and, his agreement to use criminals to…

  • Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times, said he needed gaming money | Thaiger

    Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times, said he needed gaming money

    A Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times in 2 months, and said he needed the money to play online video games and for his living, according to Phuket City Police Chief Colonel Sarawut Chooprasit. Sarawut told The Phuket Express that police had arrested the thief on Wednesday after he broke into a ‘restaurant’ and stole cash. Sarawut said that later,…

  • Man threatens PM Prayut’s daughters on Twitter, sentenced to 5 years in prison | Thaiger

    Man threatens PM Prayut’s daughters on Twitter, sentenced to 5 years in prison

    A man who posted a threatening message on Twitter aimed at the twin daughters of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with no parole. Yesterday, Southern Bangkok Criminal Court found the man guilty of “publicising a crime” and for breaking the Computer Crimes Act because of a Tweet he posted in March last year.…

  • Notorious hitman arrested in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Notorious hitman arrested in southern Thailand

    Yesterday, police and military forces in Thailand’s southern province of Ranong arrested a notorious hitman. The hitman, 41 year old Nirut Krajang, had fled to Myanmar when a Chumphon court issued an arrest warrant for murder. There, he worked for 4 months in forestry before his eye was injured and he returned to Thailand for treatment. But coming back home…

  • Former air force officer murders ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Former air force officer murders ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend in Bangkok

    A former Royal Thai Air Force officer murdered his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend at a house in Ratchathewi district in Bangkok yesterday morning. The perpetrator broke into the couple’s home and shot dead 24 year old Fah and 25 year old Korakot before fleeing the house. Fah was shot twice in the head and body and Korakot was shot…

  • Phuket police search for kidnapper and young girl he abducted months ago | Thaiger

    Phuket police search for kidnapper and young girl he abducted months ago

    Police are still on the hunt for a man who kidnapped a young girl on Rawai Beach in the main city district of Phuket in February. The girl’s mother reported the kidnapping on February 9, saying that a 33 year old man named only as ‘Camp’ abducted her 13-year-old daughter while the girl was selling flowers on Rawai Beach in…

  • Thai nurse arrested for conning the public out of millions of baht in flu vaccine scam | Thaiger

    Thai nurse arrested for conning the public out of millions of baht in flu vaccine scam

    A Thai nurse has been arrested, accused of defrauding the public in a flu vaccine scam that netted millions of baht. According to media reports, 38-year-old Thonglim Jitpeng was arrested in the Bang Na district of Bangkok. She has denied the charges against her. According to reports, Thonglim ran a business selling hand sanitiser during the pandemic, which enabled her…

  • Scams are on the rise with over 1 billion baht stolen | Thaiger

    Scams are on the rise with over 1 billion baht stolen

    Thailand suffered losses of over 1 billion baht as a consequence of growing online scams. Last year, around 1,600 people were targets of fake call centres, and almost 50,000 complaints were lodged, more than double the number of the same time last year. More than 6 million scam calls were made, nearly 300% up while there were 60% more bogus…

  • Thailand defends human trafficking record | Thaiger

    Thailand defends human trafficking record

    Thailand yesterday defended its human trafficking record and hit back at US accusations that the illegal transportation of people is a critical national problem. A Thai delegation, led by Chettaphan Maksamphan, director-general of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs, met with US Department of State officials in Washington last week to discuss the matter ahead of the 2022…

  • 5,000 prisoners in Thailand are suffering from mental health illness | Thaiger

    5,000 prisoners in Thailand are suffering from mental health illness

    There are 260,000 prisoners across 143 jails in Thailand, and around 5,000 convicts are dealing with mental health problems. Psychologists have revealed reports of anxiety and depression that is most common among prisoners sentenced for drug-related offences. A large number of offenders already suffer from mental illness before arrest while others deteriorate once they are jailed, according to the Corrections…

  • Police under investigation in central Thailand after viral video | Thaiger

    Police under investigation in central Thailand after viral video

    Police have transferred 2 officers to inactive posts in Thailand’s central province of Nakhon Pathom following a viral video of the officers kicking and stomping on 2 young men. A fact-finding investigation of the 2 officers is now underway. The video first shows the officers pulling over on the side of a road in their truck, as 3 young men…

  • As travel opens, Phuket officials gather to fight drug problem | Thaiger

    As travel opens, Phuket officials gather to fight drug problem

    Now that Thailand’s travel restrictions are easing, Phuket officials are on guard for an expected increase in demands for illegal drugs. This morning, a group of officials held a meeting at Phuket City Hall to discuss drug issues in the island province. The meeting was led by a director from the Region 8 Drug Enforcement Administration. Officials from other government…

  • Canadian man arrested for stealing traffic barriers in Chiang Mai | Thaiger

    Canadian man arrested for stealing traffic barriers in Chiang Mai

    Police have arrested a Canadian expat in Chiang Mai after driving his car around the city to steal metal traffic barriers. Yes, traffic barriers. 69 year old Ronald John Price was arrested today on Ratchadamnoen Road in Chiang Mai. According to reports, Mr. Price covered his face whilst stealing metal traffic barriers from around the province. He drove his sedan…

  • Thai-Chinese gang arrested for dating app scam at Chiang Mai’s luxury resort | Thaiger

    Thai-Chinese gang arrested for dating app scam at Chiang Mai’s luxury resort

    Police yesterday revealed that a Thai-Chinese gang had been arrested in Chaing Mai for operating illegal dating scam activities after a tip off. Police apprehended 24 people after a member of the public alerted authorities to a group of Chinese men behaving suspiciously at the luxury Chaing Mai holiday resort. The gang included 20 Chinese and 4 Thai, 2 of…

  • Stolen gold found scattered in northern Thailand | Thaiger

    Stolen gold found scattered in northern Thailand

    After a robber stole several pricy items from a gold shop earlier this week, police found 7 trays of gold ornaments in the middle of a river in northern Thailand’s Tak province. Local people showed the gold to police after they spotted it on an islet in the middle of Ping River in the main city district. The locals also…

  • Thai government winning war against drugs after seizing 5 billion baht haul from nation’s cartels | Thaiger

    Thai government winning war against drugs after seizing 5 billion baht haul from nation’s cartels

    The Thai Minister of Justice yesterday revealed around 5 billion baht had been recovered from nationwide drug raids. Somsak Thepsutin disclosed to Thai media the government is winning the war against drugs, cracking down on illegal cartels, and expects to recoup 10 billion baht by the end of the year after seizing more than half of that amount from illegal…

  • Karma in Kalasin: Man steals drain cover then drives his car into the hole | Thaiger

    Karma in Kalasin: Man steals drain cover then drives his car into the hole

    A thief from Kalasin province in northeast Thailand got a taste of his own medicine today after he stole a drain cover and proceeded to drive his pickup truck into the open hole. He was forced to request help from municipality officers, who instantly recognised him as the thief from CCTV footage, detained him and handed him over to the…

  • Prosecutor in Red Bull heir case kicked out of civil service | Thaiger

    Prosecutor in Red Bull heir case kicked out of civil service

    Today, Thailand’s public prosecution committee unanimously agreed to kick ex-general attorney Nate Naksuk out of the civil service for choosing not to indict the “Red Bull heir,” who killed a police officer in a hit-and-run incident back in 2012. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidya – the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya – became a fugitive after speeding through the…

  • LINE app popular in Thailand warns users, look out for scams | Thaiger

    LINE app popular in Thailand warns users, look out for scams

    LINE, a chat app popular in Thailand, is warning users to be on the lookout for scammers who might use SMS and LINE chat to steal personal information. The app said today that recently, some scammers claimed to be company officials, and posted job announcements via SMS and Line chat. LINE said that scammers are also adding people as ‘friends’…

  • Water park pool slashed causing a flood at gated community | Thaiger

    Water park pool slashed causing a flood at gated community

    A knife-wielding hoodlum caused chaos at the SansaNook water park in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, by sinking a blade into a huge artificial pool resulting in a flood to a nearby gated community. Water park staff alerted owner Nathapong Pathaveesathian to the vandalism on Sunday just before 7pm after residents complained their homes were being flooded. Nathapong arrived…

  • 6 million baht worth of gold stolen in Northern Thailand | Thaiger

    6 million baht worth of gold stolen in Northern Thailand

    Police are on the lookout for an armed robber who fled the crime scene with nearly 6 million baht worth of gold from a Big C Supermarket in Tak, Northern Thailand, on Sunday. The robber burst into the popular superstore, withdrew a handgun, demanded cash and several trays of gold jewelry, before making his escape on a white Yamaha motorbike…

  • 14 year old and older brother arrested in eastern Thailand over human trafficking | Thaiger

    14 year old and older brother arrested in eastern Thailand over human trafficking

    A 14 year old boy and his 29 year old brother have been arrested in the Isaan province of Sa Kaew for human trafficking. They offered transportation services for illegal Thai workers in Cambodian casinos who wanted to visit families in Thailand. The Thai army rangers and authorities from the Special Unit Infantryman Department investigated areas along the Thai-Cambodia border…

  • Pattaya police announce ‘specialised’ patrol after several gold theft incidents | Thaiger

    Pattaya police announce ‘specialised’ patrol after several gold theft incidents

    In the wake of a string of gold theft incidents in Pattaya in the past month, a Pattaya police chief has announced that a ‘specialised’ police patrol force will be formed to monitor any inappropriate incidents in tourist areas, or crimes against tourists. This news comes after four separate occasions in Pattaya where Indian tourists reported thieves snatching their expensive…

  • UPDATE: Excavation banned on hill in Phuket, further investigation | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Excavation banned on hill in Phuket, further investigation

    THE LATEST After Thai media reported construction tools and trucks digging soil on a hill in Kamala, a town in Phuket, officials have banned any further excavation on the site. Kathu District Chief Siwat Rawangkul confirmed the ban when he and other officials revisited the site on Tuesday. He said that no government office has issued a building permit for…

  • Man who released cobras at Bangkok intersection slaps political activist in the face | Thaiger

    Man who released cobras at Bangkok intersection slaps political activist in the face

    A man who made headlines two months ago for releasing cobras and cutting his wrists at a busy intersection in Bangkok has gained more attention for slapping a political activist in the face at a protest in Bangkok. ‘K Hundred Million’, a real estate businessman, said he slapped the woman because she insulted Thailand’s royal family. The incident happened on…

  • Man stabbed to death at wedding in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Man stabbed to death at wedding in southern Thailand

    A man stabbed another man to death at a wedding party in Thailand’s southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last night, according to police in Nopphitam district. Witnesses told police that the victim, 58 year old Diam Yangkaew, had been drinking with other guests at a table, when another man showed up on a motorcycle. They say the man walked…

  • Shootout between a drug dealer and police, 2 dead | Thaiger

    Shootout between a drug dealer and police, 2 dead

    Before dying from 3 gunshot wounds to the abdomen by a team of police officers, a drug dealer was able to shoot 2 police officers, killing one and wounding another. The incident happened in Suphan Buri, a central province of Thailand, just north of Bangkok. The small time drug dealer, 40 year old Phakphum Wareenil was contacted on his Facebook…

  • South African woman, jailed in Thailand, gets to speak to mother | Thaiger

    South African woman, jailed in Thailand, gets to speak to mother

    A young South African woman, 23 year old Ashley Oosthuizen, sentenced to life in a Thai prison has finally been able to speak to her mother after nearly 3 months of Covid ‘quarantine’ (as there was an outbreak in the prison). She was sentenced after being accused and convicted by a Thai court of accepting a package of MDMA at the Koh…

  • Police find 1 million meth pills in Chiang Mai pickup truck | Thaiger

    Police find 1 million meth pills in Chiang Mai pickup truck

    In yet another mass drug bust in Thailand’s north, police found 1 million methamphetamine pills in a pickup truck they stopped at a drug checkpoint in the Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai. The police arrested four people who were in the truck on Monday. After investigating, they then got a warrant to arrest another man, and another woman. The…