2 Thai police among 10 suspects stealing cash and cannabis trees from vendor
A cannabis vendor in Pathum Thani accused a group of 10 men, including at least two police officers, of falsely claiming his business was operating without a permit before stealing 800,000 baht in cash and cannabis trees valued at more than 2.2 million baht from his home.
The case emerged after the 22 year old vendor shared his account and video footage of the alleged operation with the news Facebook page Jmoi V+. He also filed a complaint against the group at Mueang Pathum Thani Police Station on February 12.
According to the vendor, the group arrived at his home and claimed he was growing cannabis and selling cannabis products illegally, despite having a valid permit. He said the suspects carried out what he described as a wrongful raid and confiscation.
During the incident, the vendor alleged the suspects took 800,000 baht in cash and removed cannabis trees from the residence. He said the total loss exceeded 3 million baht.
After the raid, the vendor said he went to Pathum Thani Police Station to lodge a complaint and asked to meet the officers involved, but none of the alleged raiding party appeared at the station.
He also alleged that CCTV cameras inside his home were damaged, prompting him to look for other security cameras in the surrounding area to use as evidence in his complaint.
Police later said an investigation found that some of the suspects were serving police officers. The inquiry resulted in six arrest warrants, while four other suspects remain under investigation as officers work to identify them.
Among the six wanted suspects, three men surrendered, including Police Captain Pongphon, a police sub-lieutenant, and Sawanchai, who claimed to be an assistant to police officers. All three denied the allegations.
Channel 7 reported that one of the two police officers named in the case had recently been removed from his position as part of an investigation into a separate accusation of money extortion that reportedly occurred two months before the cannabis vendor’s complaint.
Police said the three suspects remain in custody for questioning, while the investigation into the alleged theft continues.
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