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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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...
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Thais want tougher consequences for repeat drunk drivers – Dusit Poll
Thais have spoken up in a new poll saying they want tougher consequences for those who choose to drink and drive again and again. The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University Poll revealed that an overwhelming majority of Thais are in favor of harsher penalties. The survey was conducted on 2,152 participants of all ages and career levels nationwide. About 94% of…
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Bus driver of student field trip arrested after police find 600 kilograms of methamphetamine onboard
A chartered bus driver, who recently took students on a field trip, was arrested after police found 600 kilograms of methamphetamine in the bus’ luggage compartment. 53 year old Amorn Chatawittayakul, the driver, was stopped at the Tha Yang intersection on Phetkasem Highway in Thailand’s central Petchaburi province at about 8pm last night. The bus was headed back from a…
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Mother of drowned boy scout accuses school director of negligence
A woman is accusing a school director in the Isaan province Kalasin of negligence after her teenage son drowned during a boy scout challenge at a nearby swamp. Teachers did not notice 15 year old Noppakao Sita was missing. His body was found later that night at around 8pm after a long search by local divers. Teachers running the scout…
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More methamphetamine found on Thailand beach, suspected to be linked to sunken vessel
More packages of methamphetamine have washed up on a Thailand beach, this time on the shore of Koh Chang, an island in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Trat. Police have speculated that the drugs, all in similar packaging, may have been from a vessel that sank while carrying a shipment of drugs from Vietnam. In earlier reports,…
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Former immigration chief “Big Joke” back at Royal Thai Police
The former immigration chief known as “Big Joke” has been appointed by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha as advisor of the Royal Thai Police after a 2-year hiatus from law enforcement. Surachet Hakparn, nicknamed Big Joke by Thai media, suddenly fell from grace in back 2019 when he was sidelined into an inactive role without any published reason. He even ended up…
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Italian man arrested at Bangkok pizzeria for allegedly sexually abusing a 3 year old
A 50 year old Italian man was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 3 year old girl. The child’s parents had filed a police complaint last month and police recently tracked down the suspect, arresting him yesterday at Lino Pizzaon Sala Thammasop Road in Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana district. The child’s parents say the man, identified as Aldo, had offered to…
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Cats seized in suspected drug network raid in Rayong to be auctioned off
Assets seized by police from criminal networks, which are then auctioned off to the public, usually include furniture, cars and sometimes land and property. Today, police seized 6 cats along with 35 million baht worth of assets suspected to be related to a major drug network in Rayong. The cats are set to be auctioned off by Thai police. One…
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A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online
A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online. The raid followed a tip-off that fake medical certificates were available to buy online via a Facebook page. The suspect said she earned between 250,000 to 500,000 baht a month from the sale of fake medical certificates. Niphaporn Ponghiran aged 33 was arrested at a house on Phetkasem…
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Police step up Phuket gold shop inspections to increase security
Phuket police are stepping up gold shop inspections in the area to help increase security. They say they have already started inspecting the shops in Phuket Town to make sure security measures are up to par with officers now patrolling areas where gold shops are located more regularly. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pornsak Nuannu says his offices have already met…
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Owner of dog who allegedly bit young girl in Phuket says 100,000 baht compensation request is too much
The owner of a dog, who allegedly bit a young girl in Phuket town, is saying a 100,000 baht compensation request is too much. The 15 year old girl says she was bitten by the dog on her left leg after chasing her on her way to Satree Phuket School. 32 year old Chotika Kansuya, filed a complaint to the…
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Thai man in Pattaya arrested for allegedly selling e-cig vaping products
A Thai man is under arrest in Pattaya for allegedly selling e-cigarettes and vaping products, after concerned citizens tipped off Banglamung police. The products were allegedly being sold in the Naklua market, according to the Banglamung Administrative Chief Officer, Phonchai Sangeiad who reportedly talked to Pattaya News. “We are cracking down on electronic cigarettes in the area overall as part…
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Thai government considers expanding Bangkok prisons due to many visitors supporting political prisoners
With a number of people facing charges related to their involvement in political protests, the Thai government is looking into expanding prisons to help reduce overcrowding, particularly for visits. Thailand’s justice minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters that Bangkok Remand Prison and Klong Prem Central Prison are becoming congested with families and other people who visit the prisons to support the…
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Woman’s charred remains found near northern Thailand rubber plantation
The charred remains of a 19 year old woman was found near a rubber plantation in Phitsanulok, a province in northern Thailand. Police say the woman’s 18 year old boyfriend, a murder suspect, turned himself in. Jularat Kongkaew was reported missing on February 27. She had left her home the previous afternoon with her boyfriend, a Mathayom 6 student (equivalent…
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Local Thai politician arrested after allegedly firing shots at a pub
A local politician allegedly shot 4 people at a pub in Nakhon Phanom. Witnesses told the Bangkok Post that the man started firing shots at throughout the pub because he was drunk and unhappy with the table service. Police arrested 58 year old Paisal Saengnarai, who is a kamnan, the governing official of a tambon or sub district. Witnesses say…
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3 men arrested over alleged murder of drug business colleague
3 men have been arrested in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat and charged with the murder of a fourth man. The Pattaya News reports that an unnamed 46 year old Thai man, allegedly involved in a drugs-related business with the 3 suspects, was shot dead in a rubber plantation in the southern province of Surat Thani. Police have…
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Funeral shooting adds to Thailand’s trend of politically-motivated violence
Last week, a mayoral candidate was shot and killed and 6 others were wounded, including 3 people who were running in local elections and a local kamnan, a government official of a tambon, or sub district. Police say they believe the shooting was politically motivated. Violence related to local politics has been a trend in Thailand over the past few…
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Early morning drug busts in Phuket yield 9 arrests
An early morning drug bust in Rawai, Phuket has yielded 9 arrests. The first raid yesterday consisted of 30 task force members who raided a sea gypsy shack near the beachfront in Rawai. 43 year old Saroch Homhuan, and 34 year old Juree Bangjak, were arrested and charged with posession of a Category I drug with the intent to sell,…
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Pattaya police raid nightclub suspected of presenting pornographic shows
Pattaya City Police inspected a nightclub after reports that the venue was hosting pornographic shows on the weekends. Although the nightclub, Dragon Man Club, wasn’t presenting a sexually explicit show when officers came by, the owner was arrested for operating an entertainment business and selling alcohol without the proper permit. Police say a tip was made through social media from…
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Bangkok Military Court issues arrest warrant for medic accused of injecting troops with fake Covid-19 vaccine
The Bangkok Military Court has issued an arrest warrant for a Royal Thai Army medic who is accused of injecting troops with a fake Covid-19 vaccine. He reportedly made more than 100,000 baht by charging troops, who were on a United Nations mission, 500 baht each for a tetanus vaccine and a fake Covid-19 vaccine, which an internal army investigation…
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Gunman kills mayoral candidate, injures 4 other municipal candidates at funeral
UPDATE: Recent reports say 6 people were injured in the shooting. The suspect has surrendered to police. A gunman shot and killed a woman running for mayor and wounded 4 others at a funeral in Ratchaburi, a province west of Bangkok near the Myanmar border. Police say they suspect the shooting was politically motivated. Out of the 4 people injured,…
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Another drug bust near the Mekong River, 500 kilograms of cannabis seized
In another drug bust in Northeastern province Nakhon Phanom, police arrested a man and seized 500 kilograms of compressed cannabis. Just yesterday, border patrol police in the province seized 920 kilograms of compressed cannabis from a boat on the Mekong River. In both cases, police suspect the cannabis came from Laos, just across the river. Police say they searched a…
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Police seize 920 kilograms of cannabis smuggled across the Mekong River
In a major bust on the Mekong River, notorious for drug smuggling, border patrol police seized 920 kilograms of dried, compacted cannabis from a boat along the Nakhon Phanom riverbank, bordering Laos. Police were tipped off about a large shipment of drugs being trafficked across the Thai-Laos border. Police spotted a boat around 4am yesterday. When police moved in, men…
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Royal Thai Police accused of “ticket” promotion system to buy senior positions
The Royal Thai Police are being accused of using so-called “elephant tickets” to buy their way into promotions and pay their way up the police force’s chain of command. The corruption among the police force and the buying of positions without meeting the requirements for a promotion has been a longtime problem, according to the Bangkok Post. The “elephant ticket”…
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Woman talks about the life of a Thai “pretty” after model’s death
Following the news of a model who died after working as a hostess at a Bangkok party, Thai media spoke with a woman, known in Thailand as a “pretty,” about what it’s like to work in the lucrative, yet shady Thai model entertainment industry where many work as hostesses at parties and events that often involve alcohol, drugs and sex…
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Motorbike taxi attacked tourist in Pattaya because he was annoyed
A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is saying he was annoyed when he attacked a Chilean man out of nowhere early yesterday morning. Amorn “Jeab” Boonmee was arrested after confessing to allegedly slapping and kicking 24 year old Salvatore Andres Castromedina, breaking his nose. According Khaosod English, Amorn says he acted in a “blind moment of fury” because he was annoyed…
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Police officer arrested for allegedly stealing grenade launcher and other weapons
A police officer was arrested for allegedly stealing a M79 grenade launcher and other weapons from a police station armoury in Mae Hong Son, a province in Northern Thailand bordering Myanmar. Police say officer Santichai Luerat planned to sell the guns and ammunition to a buyer who would then sell the weapons to members of an ethnic minority across the…
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Thailand law enforcement gets new “laser” narcotics analysers
Thailand law enforcement will now use a new “laser” narcotics analyser to test suspicious substances and chemicals in major drug busts. It’s apparently a more accurate method to identify illicit drugs than the current colour test. The new portable drug test happens to come a few months after Thailand claimed to have seized 11.5 tonnes of ketamine in the “biggest…
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Pattaya motorbike taxi allegedly attacks Chilean national
A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is being accused of attacking a Chilean national, leaving his nose broken and face bloodied. 24 year old Salvatore Andres Castromedina, filed a report to the Pattaya City Police at around 2am this morning after saying he had left a nightclub on Pattaya’s Walking Street after it had closed. “I wanted to go to Soi…
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Phuket police officer charged with attempted murder for shooting and critically injuring a noodle vendor
The drunk, off-duty police officer in Phuket who has caught on camera shooting and beating a noodle vendor on Bangla Road is now facing attempted murder charges as well as charges of carrying a firearm in public without a necessary reason and firing a weapon in a public area. The commander of the Phuket police station said he ordered investigators…
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Drunk police officer shoots and beats vendor on Bangla Road in Phuket
A Phuket police officer was caught on camera beating and shooting at a noodle vendor on Bangla Road in Patong, critically injuring the young man. Reports vary on exactly what happened before the shooting, but apparently the police officer had been drinking until nearly dawn this morning before the incident. Surveillance camera footage shows the 25 year old vendor suddenly…
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