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...

  • 4 Vietnamese arrested for turning Bangkok house into drug factory | Thaiger

    4 Vietnamese arrested for turning Bangkok house into drug factory

    Police arrested four Vietnamese nationals for transforming a rented house in the Lat Phrao area of Bangkok into a drug production facility. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) disclosed details of the arrests during a press conference yesterday, August 21, following the apprehension of the suspects in mid-August. The operation stemmed from discussions during the Thailand-Vietnam Bilateral Meeting…

  • Chinese man caught selling ketamine ‘K-vapes’ in Chon Buri | Thaiger

    Chinese man caught selling ketamine ‘K-vapes’ in Chon Buri

    A drug sting in Chon Buri exposed a black market operation selling ketamine-laced vape pods, ending in a car chase and arrest. Bang Lamung Police, led by Police Colonel Sarawut Nuchanart, launched a sting operation yesterday, August 21, at 8pm in the Huai Yai area, targeting Yu Shizhone, a Chinese national allegedly running an online black market for so-called “K-vapes.”…

  • 2 Chinese men hunted after holding Thai woman captive in Pattaya | Thaiger

    2 Chinese men hunted after holding Thai woman captive in Pattaya

    Two Chinese men are on the run after holding the Thai wife of a compatriot captive at a house in Pattaya earlier today, August 22. Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station were called to a house in a village on Soi Bongkot, South Pattaya, at around 3am to assist the woman, whose identity was not disclosed. The victim was reportedly…

  • Thailand eyes kratom crackdown amid abuse fears | Thaiger

    Thailand eyes kratom crackdown amid abuse fears

    Thailand’s justice minister has vowed to rein in kratom abuse after nationwide reports of users mixing the herbal drink with narcotics. Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said new regulations may soon be introduced to restrict kratom leaf sales, following talks with Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this week. “On August 20, I discussed with the public health minister the necessity…

  • Phuket holiday turns tragic as Russian vanishes at sea | Thaiger

    Phuket holiday turns tragic as Russian vanishes at sea

    A late-night beach swim turned into a nightmare for a Russian couple in Phuket, after a powerful wave dragged the man into the sea, sparking a desperate search effort. The incident occurred shortly after midnight today, August 21, near a secluded stretch of coastline between Banana Beach and Nai Thon Beach in northern Phuket. Sakhu Police identified the missing man…

  • Bangkok taxi rider tries to run down passenger for safety complaint | Thaiger

    Bangkok taxi rider tries to run down passenger for safety complaint

    An app-based motorcycle taxi rider allegedly attempted to run over a female passenger after she complained about his dangerous riding on a Bangkok road. The 41 year old woman, identified as Aunyamanee, shared her account of the assault attempt with the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive. The incident occurred at around 2am yesterday, August 20, outside a hotel in Soi Sukhumvit…

  • 2 doctors face jail time after cosmetic surgery leaves woman in coma | Thaiger

    2 doctors face jail time after cosmetic surgery leaves woman in coma

    A Thai doctor, who owned a clinic in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district, faces six months in prison after a cosmetic surgery performed six years ago left a woman in a coma. Another doctor who owns the clinic faces three months behind bars. In 2019, 31 year old Apiphu Hirunyanit filed a complaint with Sutthisan Police Station after his younger sister,…

  • Fake tower, real scam: Korean man busted in Bangkok SMS sting | Thaiger

    Fake tower, real scam: Korean man busted in Bangkok SMS sting

    A South Korean scammer took mobile fraud to the streets of Bangkok before cyber cops caught him with a fake cell tower in his car. On Tuesday, August 19, 35 year old Kim Do-yeong was arrested at Pracha Songkroah Intersection in Din Daeng district while driving a Toyota sedan loaded with a false base station (FBS) device. The high-tech kit…

  • Animal lovers call for action on Songkhla man after over 10 adoptive cats die | Thaiger

    Animal lovers call for action on Songkhla man after over 10 adoptive cats die

    Animal lovers in the southern province of Songkhla are demanding legal action against a Thai man after he adopted more than ten cats that later died under his care. A cat lovers’ group in Songkhla urged the animal welfare organisation The Hope Songkhla to investigate a man named Pond, who adopted over ten stray cats and subsequently blocked the original…

  • Phuket inmates trained to save lives behind bars | Thaiger

    Phuket inmates trained to save lives behind bars

    Prisoners in Phuket are learning how to save lives, starting with each other. Phuket Provincial Prison hosted a life-saving training event yesterday, August 20, under the Department of Corrections’ Sharing Happiness project, aiming to equip inmates and officers with emergency response skills in CPR, defibrillator use, and choking assistance. The training was formally launched at 1pm yesterday, where Air Chief…

  • Thai couple confesses to killing newborn and burning body in Khon Kaen | Thaiger

    Thai couple confesses to killing newborn and burning body in Khon Kaen

    A Thai couple confessed to killing their newborn baby and burning the body in a charcoal kiln at a friend’s home in Khon Kaen province. A local in the Ban Fang district of Khon Kaen discovered the corpse of the newborn in a charcoal kiln in a sugar cane field on August 17 and reported it to Ban Fang Police…

  • Thai woman fatally stabs restaurant owner over rape ordeal blame | Thaiger

    Thai woman fatally stabs restaurant owner over rape ordeal blame

    A Thai woman fatally stabbed a female restaurant owner in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet, allegedly blaming the victim for failing to prevent a sexual assault while she was intoxicated. Officers from Khlong Khlung Police Station and rescuers from the Sawang Kamphaeng Phet Foundation were called to a restaurant near the Ping River in Khlong Khlung district after the…

  • Teacher’s husband apologises after running over schoolboy in a pickup truck | Thaiger

    Teacher’s husband apologises after running over schoolboy in a pickup truck

    A teacher’s husband issued an apology after running his pickup over a 12 year old schoolboy in Udon Thani, claiming he did not notice the boy sitting at the spot. The 12 year old Thai boy, Tang, suffered a broken pelvis after the driver, 53 year old Phan, ran over him while he was sitting in the activity area after…

  • New SIM rules roll out to crush cyber crooks in Thailand | Thaiger

    New SIM rules roll out to crush cyber crooks in Thailand

    Thailand is cracking down on SIM-swap scams with strict new mobile registration rules, and you’ll need your face to prove who you are. In a major move to curb cybercrime, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has rolled out real-time facial recognition technology, known as Liveness Detection, to verify all new SIM registrations and replacements nationwide. The change, which…

  • Thai Commerce Ministry cracks down on illegal steel trade | Thaiger

    Thai Commerce Ministry cracks down on illegal steel trade

    The Ministry of Commerce has taken action against foreign steel trading businesses in Samut Prakan, suspected of using Thai nominees to hold shares illegally. Deputy Permanent Secretary of Commerce, Chakara Yodmanee, who leads the task force against illegal foreign businesses, reported that the Department of Business Development has intensified efforts to resolve nominee issues, following instructions from Deputy Commerce Minister…

  • Car bomb rips through Narathiwat checkpoint, 1 injured | Thaiger

    Car bomb rips through Narathiwat checkpoint, 1 injured

    Terror returned to Thailand’s Deep South last night when a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, injuring a defence volunteer and triggering a brief gun battle. The attack unfolded at around 8.15pm yesterday, August 20, in Sala Mai subdistrict, where local volunteers were manning a regular security post. According to police reports, the explosion…

  • Officials discover 20 preserved bodies at AIDS treatment temple | Thaiger

    Officials discover 20 preserved bodies at AIDS treatment temple

    Officials from the Ministry of Public Health raided Phra Bat Nampu Temple in the central province of Lop Buri, where they discovered 20 bodies of AIDS patients illegally preserved and displayed in a museum within the temple. Phra Bat Nampu Temple, also known as the AIDS temple, has long been running donation campaigns to raise funds for underprivileged AIDS patients.…

  • Bangkok man arrested for stabbing taxi driver amid cannabis delusions | Thaiger

    Bangkok man arrested for stabbing taxi driver amid cannabis delusions

    A 30 year old man, Chawin, was apprehended for allegedly attacking a motorcycle taxi driver in Bangkok, resulting in severe injuries. Police acted on an arrest warrant from the Criminal Court, dated August 19, for causing grievous bodily harm. Chawin was taken into custody in Tha Ruea district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, with a folding knife found in his possession.…

  • Thailand intensifies crackdown on illegal agricultural imports | Thaiger

    Thailand intensifies crackdown on illegal agricultural imports

    Attakorn Sirilatthayakorn, the agriculture and cooperatives minister, has announced a robust initiative to combat illegal agricultural products, including illicit pork, fisheries, and plant goods. The Special Unit Phaya Naga, established in 2023, aims to curb these activities, which have caused direct economic damages exceeding 10 billion baht. The Phaya Naga unit, founded during the tenure of former agriculture and cooperatives…

  • Indian businessman faces legal battle over Pattaya hotel rental | Thaiger

    Indian businessman faces legal battle over Pattaya hotel rental

    An Indian businessman has encountered a legal dispute after renting a hotel with 32 rooms for three years, paying a deposit for three months amounting to 960,000 baht, yet being unable to access the property. Reports were filed with the police in Mueang Pattaya district by 42 year old Wassana (pseudonym), a partner in a real estate company owned by…

  • Gun-toting dad smashes woman’s face in Pattaya diner row | Thaiger

    Gun-toting dad smashes woman’s face in Pattaya diner row

    A furious father sparked chaos in Pattaya after pistol-whipping a woman and firing a shot into the air during a restaurant clash. The shocking incident occurred on Sunday, August 17, on Soi Phothisan 8, but the suspect was arrested three days later after police obtained damning CCTV evidence. At 5pm yesterday, August 20, officers from Bang Lamung Police Station raided…

  • Foreign volunteer allegedly threatened for helping patients in Thai AIDs temple | Thaiger

    Foreign volunteer allegedly threatened for helping patients in Thai AIDs temple

    A former foreign volunteer at Phra Bat Nampu Temple claimed that she faced a death threat allegedly because her work improved the health of AIDS patients, resulting in reduced donations to the temple. Phra Bat Nampu Temple in the central province of Lop Buri and its abbot, Alongkot, have come under public scrutiny, not for its patient care efforts, but…

  • Chiang Mai cops bust 700kg Taiwan-bound ‘Durian’ meth haul | Thaiger

    Chiang Mai cops bust 700kg Taiwan-bound ‘Durian’ meth haul

    A major drug bust in Chiang Mai has sent shockwaves through Thai law enforcement after police intercepted 700 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden in sacks marked with the bizarre branding “Durian.” The massive haul was discovered in the early hours of Monday, August 18, at around 1.12am, when police patrolling Ban Pa Bong Ngam in the Chiang Dao district stopped a…

  • British tourist faces 10 years over Pattaya death crash | Thaiger

    British tourist faces 10 years over Pattaya death crash

    A British tourist is staring at a decade behind bars after a Thai woman he allegedly struck while pulling a motorbike stunt in Pattaya died in hospital. The 22 year old British national, Brandon Mills, from Doncaster, was riding a rented scooter on one wheel when he ploughed into 49 year old Churairat Petchraksa outside a bar on Thursday, August…

  • Bangkok police arrest gang linked to call centre fraud | Thaiger

    Bangkok police arrest gang linked to call centre fraud

    Bangkok’s metropolitan police have arrested a network involved in procuring mule accounts and managing cash withdrawals for a call centre gang in the Huai Khwang area. The suspects admitted to operating as an organised group, providing services to a Chinese leader. Yesterday, August 19, Police Major General Chotiwat Lueangwilai, commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Investigation Division, and other senior…

  • Thai man arrested for 8 million baht gold robbery in Samut Prakan | Thaiger

    Thai man arrested for 8 million baht gold robbery in Samut Prakan

    Police yesterday, August 19, arrested a Thai man who stole over 8 million baht worth of gold accessories from a shop in Samut Prakan province near Bangkok. Only about 4.5 million baht worth of gold was recovered. A male thief dressed in a delivery rider’s uniform robbed a gold shop in a shopping mall in the Bang Bo neighbourhood of…

  • Foreign tourists involved in Patong assault await medical report for charges | Thaiger

    Foreign tourists involved in Patong assault await medical report for charges

    Patong Police are currently awaiting a medical report before proceeding with charges against foreign tourists involved in a violent incident with a Thai motorbike rental operator in Patong. The assault, which occurred on August 10, involved six people identified as Arab. The suspects were reportedly arrested by August 14, following a video of the attack being shown to Nirat Phongsitthaworn,…

  • Temple robbery in Udon Thani: 6,500 baht stolen | Thaiger

    Temple robbery in Udon Thani: 6,500 baht stolen

    A monk’s residence at Sri Khun Mueang Temple, Udon Thani, was broken into, resulting in the theft of money and electronics. The incident occurred early in the morning when the monk was attending a morning prayer session. Police Major Chakrapong Tongtam, an investigator at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station, along with the Pirun investigative team, responded to a report of…

  • Thai hospitals probed over fake migrant health certificates | Thaiger

    Thai hospitals probed over fake migrant health certificates

    Private hospitals in Thailand are facing a scandal after allegations surfaced that they have been issuing fake health certificates to migrant workers without carrying out proper medical checks. Deputy Public Health Minister Chaichana Dechdecho announced yesterday, August 19, that two to three hospitals are under investigation, with early evidence suggesting doctors signed off on the fraudulent certificates without conducting blood…

  • Two monks defrocked in Koh Samui after drug, fraud violations | Thaiger

    Two monks defrocked in Koh Samui after drug, fraud violations

    Police in Surat Thani inspected a prominent temple and discovered two monks in violation of the law. One monk tested positive for drugs, while another faced an arrest warrant. Both monks were defrocked in accordance with monastic discipline before being handed over for legal proceedings. Jarae Tungkaew, the district chief of Koh Samui’s security division, along with local defence volunteers…