Six police in Thailand’s Northeast allegedly demand money to release drug dealers

Six cops in Nakhon Phanom, a Northeastern province in Thailand, allegedly demanded a drug dealer to pay them money in exchange for releasing his accomplices.

A Facebook page posted a photo of a man and a woman with a sack that had 200,000 methamphetamine pills in it, with an audio clip of a man who claimed to be a drug dealer. In the clip, the dealer says Nakhon Phanom police demanded he pay them to release his accomplices who police had captured in January. He also claims the drugs that the police had seized “vanished”.

The 6 accused officers have been transferred as the police department investigates the allegation. The major general of the Nakhon Phanom police says he ordered an investigation as soon as he heard of the allegations, and he “won’t protect any of the police found guilty”.

He said if there is evidence, criminal and disciplinary actions will be taken, and the accused would be fired. The major general also said there are grounds to the allegations. The major general said he believes the seized drugs that vanished have been embezzled, but he would not give more details.

In October, Thailand’s parliament debated police reform after a Thai policeman was accused of killing a drug suspect in an alleged extortion-bid-gone-wrong. Police have also been accused of demanding money from illegal migrants in exchange for not arresting them.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post | VOA News