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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    5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)

    Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...

  • Police in Isaan Thailand told to be lenient with cannabis growers after grandma’s arrest

    Police in Isaan Thailand told to be lenient with cannabis growers after grandma’s arrest

    Following the arrest of a 70-year-old woman and her relative for growing a cannabis plant at their home in the Isaan province Khon Kaen, local police have been advised to use common sense, and good judgment when enforcing the laws on cannabis as Thailand loosens laws to become more marijuana-friendly. The women spent the night in jail and were punished…

  • Police in Isaan Thailand search for man allegedly caught skinning a cat

    Police in Isaan Thailand search for man allegedly caught skinning a cat

    Villagers in the Isaan province Udon Thani are being advised to look after their pets after a woman said she came across a man skinning a cat outside a nearby temple. The man fled, leaving only the cat skin at the scene. Police are now searching for the man. The village chief spoke with Thai media about the incident, saying…

  • Criminal Court acquits 6 over 2015 Bangkok terror plot, cites lack of evidence

    Criminal Court acquits 6 over 2015 Bangkok terror plot, cites lack of evidence

    Thailand’s Criminal Court acquitted six people yesterday over a Bangkok terrorism plot in 2015. The court cited a lack of evidence. The former suspects allegedly hired someone to bomb several spots including Lumpini Park, Chatuchak MRT station, and the Criminal Court. The person they allegedly hired didn’t go through with the attacks, according to prosecutors. The charges included running an…

  • Four suspects allegedly smuggled fake tobacco in Chanthaburi

    Four suspects allegedly smuggled fake tobacco in Chanthaburi

    Officials seized 83,154 packs of fake tobacco worth more than 10 million baht from four suspects in Chanthaburi yesterday. A police investigation found they smuggled the tobacco via the Ban Laem Immigration Checkpoint in Pong Nam Ron district, and sold the tobacco online. Two of the suspects were charged with allegedly selling fake tobacco, while the other two were charged…

  • Tangmo: Boating buddies should take polygraph tests, again — says senator

    Tangmo: Boating buddies should take polygraph tests, again — says senator

    The five boating buddies of the Thai actress Nida “Tango” Patcharavirapong should take lie detector tests — again. That’s the recommendation of Senator Somchai Sawangkarn, head of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, Rights, Liberties and Consumer Protection. Somachai made the statement to the media after a meeting on Monday, during which he heard reports from the police and…

  • Drug trafficking suspect who allegedly shot at police last year arrested, South Thailand

    Drug trafficking suspect who allegedly shot at police last year arrested, South Thailand

    Police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat arrested an alleged drug trafficker and his girlfriend last night. The two were hiding in a rented house in Muang district. Nakhon Si Thammarat police found 80 meth pills, drug paraphenalia, and nearly 300,000 baht cash. They also found bank account books showing deposits of several million baht, guns and ammunition…

  • Buriram battle: 50 youths shoot guns, throw explosives and glass bottles

    Buriram battle: 50 youths shoot guns, throw explosives and glass bottles

    A 50 man fight broke out in the middle of the street at 1am this morning after the annual Red Cross music festival held in the northeastern province of Buriram. Two groups of young men, approximately 50 in total, started out by arguing and chasing each other on motorcycles and then began throwing glass bottles, homemade grenades and shooting guns…

  • 70 year old grandma in Isaan Thailand arrested for growing one cannabis plant

    70 year old grandma in Isaan Thailand arrested for growing one cannabis plant

    A 70 year old woman from Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand spent Saturday night in a jail cell after she and her relative were arrested for growing one cannabis plant each. After 24 hours without freedom, they were granted bail of 10,000 baht each. The grandma told police she boils the leaves to make medicine to treat her illnesses. However,…

  • Night shift employee at Pattaya guest house robbed while asleep at reception desk

    Night shift employee at Pattaya guest house robbed while asleep at reception desk

    An employee working the night shift at a guest house in Pattaya fell asleep at the reception counter and woke up to find valuables missing from the lobby, which are said to be valued at a total of 160,000 baht. The 49 year old staff member filed a report to police and provided surveillance camera footage showing a man entering…

  • Non-profit Watchdog Thailand saves over 20 cats locked in house, 5 found dead

    Non-profit Watchdog Thailand saves over 20 cats locked in house, 5 found dead

    Over 20 cats were found starving inside a locked house yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok. Activists from the non-profit organisation Watchdog Thailand saved 17 of the cats while four escaped and a total of five dead cats were found inside the house. The cats are now being cared for at Watchdog’s shelter. Villagers contacted Watchdog Foundation…

  • Couple having sex in car allegedly attempt to run over security guard after confrontation

    Couple having sex in car allegedly attempt to run over security guard after confrontation

    A security guard narrowly dodged getting run over after asking a couple who were having sex in a parked car at a Bangkok market to move along. When the head of security approached the car in the early hours of Sunday morning, the driver attempted to run him over and fled the scene. No one was injured. 20 year old…

  • Thai police charge 32 university students for involvement in fatal hazing incident

    Thai police charge 32 university students for involvement in fatal hazing incident

    A total of 32 university students in Thailand’s Isaan region are facing criminal charges for a brutal initiation where a first-year student died after being beaten. Of those students, seven of them have reportedly confessed to using excessive violence against the student and are facing charges of colluding in physical assault causing death and assault. First-year students at the Rajamangala…

  • Southern Thailand police find large haul of methamphetamine hidden in deep fryers

    Southern Thailand police find large haul of methamphetamine hidden in deep fryers

    Officers in Southern Thailand found hundreds of kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden in electronic deep fryers packaged to be shipped overseas. A couple was arrested after officers raided a home and a motorcycle repair shop, seizing methamphetamine from both locations, which, in total, weighed more than half a tonne with a street value of 117 million baht. Officers suspect the…

  • Ranger wanted for murder found dead in Thailand forest after week-long search

    Ranger wanted for murder found dead in Thailand forest after week-long search

    After a week-long search involving around 100 officers, the body of a forest ranger wanted for murder was found hanging from a tree in Buriram. The senior ranger was wanted for firing shots at his ex-wife’s home, killing the woman’s 20 year old son. 45 year old Phitphirun Phiraphop was a senior forest protection ranger at Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.…

  • Phuket man paralysed by drunk officer seeks 15 million baht in compensation

    Phuket man paralysed by drunk officer seeks 15 million baht in compensation

    The family of the noodle vendor who was shot by a drunk, off-duty police officer last year on Phuket’s Bangla Road is seeking compensation of 15 million baht. The 25 year old vendor was shot in the stomach with the bullet lodged in his spine, paralysing him from the waist down. The officer is now on trial for attempted murder,…

  • Man caught with endangered tortoise faces charges for hunting in Thailand wildlife sanctuary

    Man caught with endangered tortoise faces charges for hunting in Thailand wildlife sanctuary

    Thai authorities caught a man with an endangered tortoise he reportedly caught in a wildlife sanctuary and planned to cook up and eat. The man was found in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan province with firearms and a yellow elongated tortoise which he claimed he was cooking. The man faces charges relating to illegally entering a wildlife sanctuary, hunting…

  • Tangmo: Fresh autopsy of Thai actress dispels suspicions (preliminary findings)

    Tangmo: Fresh autopsy of Thai actress dispels suspicions (preliminary findings)

    A second autopsy of the body of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharavirapong was conducted Thursday afternoon by the Central Institute of Forensic Science at Thammasat University Hospital in Bangkok. The actress’ mother, Panida Sirayootyotin, requested the re-examination to confirm her daughter’s cause of death and to dispel any skepticism surrounding the high-profile investigation. READ: Tangmo: Panel to verify 2nd autopsy…

  • Thai-Myanmar bridge bombed, impacting trade between the countries

    Thai-Myanmar bridge bombed, impacting trade between the countries

    After an anti-government in Myanmar bombed a bridge between Thailand’s Mae Sot and Myawaddy on March 11, trade between the two countries has been impacted. The event has resulted in a decrease in the number of Thai transport trucks passing via the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Tak, northern Thailand. Earlier this week, a temporary bridge was built to assist…

  • Australia plans to sue Facebook owner over scam ads for cryptocurrency

    Australia plans to sue Facebook owner over scam ads for cryptocurrency

    Australian officials are suing Facebook’s owner, Meta Platforms, over scam ads for cryptocurrency schemes. The ads feature well-known Australians, including a politician and a businessman, who they claim endorse the schemes. In reality, the figures never endorsed the schemes, or approved the ads. Australia’s consumer protection commission said the ads also contained links to fake articles with quotes claiming to…

  • Phuket man posts photos of teen girls in underwear on Facebook

    Phuket man posts photos of teen girls in underwear on Facebook

    A man in Phuket posted photos of teenage girls in underwear on an unnamed “popular Phuket Facebook page”. The girls allegedly ranged from early to mid teens. One girl wore shorts and a training bra, and another wore a bra and unbuttoned jeans. Online viewers accused the man of “deceiving” the girls into taking off their clothes, according to The…

  • Pattaya security guards allegedly attack foreign tourist following bill dispute

    Pattaya security guards allegedly attack foreign tourist following bill dispute

    Security guards at a nightlife complex in central Pattaya are accused of attacking a foreign tourist in a dispute over a bill. The Pattaya News reports that the incident took place around 11.30pm last night at the Tree Town complex, with a 58-year-old man, reportedly Irish, injured in the brawl. For their part, the guards claim the tourist refused to…

  • Man accidentally kills wife with backhoe at railway construction site

    Man accidentally kills wife with backhoe at railway construction site

    A man accidentally killed his wife when he ran over her with a backhoe in a tragic incident at a railway construction site in Ratchaburi in central Thailand on Monday, according to a report in Thai media. 45 year old Kaikaew Thongkham worked as a team with his 40 year old wife Amphon Pima at the double-railway construction site. Kaikaew…

  • Phuket police on the hunt for alleged shoplifting foreigner

    Phuket police on the hunt for alleged shoplifting foreigner

    A foreign man reportedly stole snacks from a Phuket shop on two separate occasions. The shopkeeper alleges the foreigner first stole snacks back in January, after he came to the store with a Thai woman. The woman paid for her items, while the man allegedly stole 228 baht worth of snacks. The man reported the alleged theft to Phuket City…

  • Bar raided in Bangkok’s Nana, woman arrested for alleged child sex trafficking

    Bar raided in Bangkok’s Nana, woman arrested for alleged child sex trafficking

    Police raided a bar in Bangkok’s Nana area and found that at least three teenage girls were offering sexual services. Two are 15 years old, another is 14. A woman at the bar was arrested on child sex trafficking charges. Officers raided 789 Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 7 in the Nana area, a redlight district is known for its go-go…

  • 7 students at Thailand university face charges for allegedly beating a student to death

    7 students at Thailand university face charges for allegedly beating a student to death

    Since 19 year old student Padyos “Prem” Chonpakdi was beaten to death, allegedly by university students in a violent initiation ceremony on Sunday in Nakhon Ratchasima, seven upper-level students have confessed to using excessive violence against Prem which lead to his death. Prem was forced to undress, drink excessive amounts of alcohol, sing and was punched in the stomach and…

  • Thailand football player could face lifetime ban for elbow strike to opponent

    Thailand football player could face lifetime ban for elbow strike to opponent

    A Bangkok Football Club player who struck his opponent with a Muay Thai-style elbow strike to the face could receive a lifetime ban. Aitsaret Noichaiboon slammed his elbow into the player’s face, fracturing his cheekbone. He received 24 stitches on his upper lip and doctors say he also suffered a blood clot in his nose. The football club terminated Aitsaret’s…

  • Officers find suspected hideout for alleged hitman on Thailand’s most wanted list

    Officers find suspected hideout for alleged hitman on Thailand’s most wanted list

    Officers found a camp at a mountain in the southern province Songkhla where they suspect an alleged hitman on Thailand’s most wanted list was hiding. The 45 year old who is wanted on multiple charges involving murder allegedly shot an M16 rifle during a police chase, killing an officer. Following the gunfire exchange, the alleged hitman Chamrat “Chui Chaochan” Rakchan,…

  • Murderer of Swiss tourist in Phuket sentenced to life imprisonment

    Murderer of Swiss tourist in Phuket sentenced to life imprisonment

    The Thai man who murdered the Swiss tourist at a Phuket waterfall last year has been sentenced to life in prison by the Phuket Court. 28 year old Teerawat Thothip was initially sentenced to death, but it was then reduced to life imprisonment given that Teerawat confessed to investigators. The body of 57 year old victim Nicole Sauvain Weisskopf, the…

  • 25 kilograms of ketamine in tea bags wash up on eastern Thailand beach

    25 kilograms of ketamine in tea bags wash up on eastern Thailand beach

    A package containing more than 25 kilograms of ketamine washed up on a beach in Trat province on Thailand’s eastern coast yesterday. A 65 year old woman was out collecting rubbish on the beach when she found what appeared to be 25 bags of Chinese tea tied together washed up on the shore. Upon closer inspection, the bags were filled…

  • Food delivery riders arrested for allegedly transporting ketamine, methamphetamine

    Food delivery riders arrested for allegedly transporting ketamine, methamphetamine

    Two food delivery drivers were arrested in Bangkok for allegedly transporting ketamine and methamphetamine to customers. The suspects allegedly confessed to trafficking the drugs for two years. Prior to the arrest, officers from the Children and Woman Protection Sub-Division arrested nine people, allegedly while they were getting high off benzodiazepines. Officers seized over 420 pills of the benzodiazepine Flunitrazepam. During…