UPDATE: Thai Army soldier still at large in Terminal 21, Korat – Killed upwards of 12

Police arrested 9 people involved in the Railway Club Cooperative, including the former chief, on collusion charges for allegedly approving loans behind closed doors to embezzle a total of 2.8 billion baht from members’ funds.

Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau have been investigating since June 30 of last year. Investigators say the suspects approved loans without calling meetings for the roughly 2,300 cooperative members and used falsified documents to take out loans of about 15 million baht each.

When reviewing loan approvals made between January 2012 and November 2016, investigators say they found loans given to a hotel, housing estate, resort and property project. They say loans were also used to buy luxury cars and other valuables.

Officers from the bureau along with the Department of Special Investigation and the Anti-Money Laundering Office recently raided 26 locations in Bangkok, Phetchaburi, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi. Officers seized a total of more than 10 million baht as well as luxury cars.

The 9 suspects face charges of colluding in theft, falsifying documents, using fake documents and money laundering. Along with arresting the cooperative’s former chief executive, 70 year old Boonsong Hongthong, police arrested committee members 49 year old Pimpa Rodrassamee, 31 year old Orchanok Sa-ngadsap, 59 year old Weerachai Srisawat, 69 year old Surat Srisawat, 37 year old Prapat Srisawat, 44 year old Supakit On-aree, 63 year old Preecha Thanapairin and 40 year old Natyanit Mahachot.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

A Bangkok woman was arrested on fraud charges for allegedly stealing a company checkbook and withdrawing 1 million baht. The 29 year old woman, identified as Krissadee, worked in accounting for a clothing design firm in the city’s Ekkamai area.

Apparently, shortly after she was hired, Krissadee suddenly stopped showing up for work. The company then noticed the checkbook was missing as well as a million baht from the company account.

In an investigation, Khlong Tan police found Krissadee made cash withdrawals. She allegedly told police that she used the money to pay for trips and gambling expenses.

SOURCE: Thai Visa

Police arrested a monk on drug charges and seized 4.8 million methamphetamine pills from a resort in the Central Thailand province Chai Nat. The man, a senior monk from Chiang Rai, was allegedly hired to help deliver large qualities methamphetamine 3 times and paid 300,000 baht per delivery. The monk allegedly told police that he needed the money to enroll in a master’s degree program.

A photo shows the monk standing in front of a van packed with boxes. Along with the 4.8 million methamphetamine pills, police found a gun with 14 bullets and 11 mobile phones. According to Thai media, it was a significant drug trafficking bust, cracking down on a large network in the Chiang Dao and Chai Nat area. The monk allegedly sat in the van during deliveries to “trick” police and avoid getting searched at police checkpoints.

SOURCES: Chiang Rai Times | Thairath