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.
-
Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
-
Police in central Thailand offer cash reward to help nab gold shop robber
Police in Thailand’s central province of Ayutthaya is offering a cash reward to help catch a gold shop robber. The robber got away with 95 baht weight in gold jewellery worth over 2.8 million baht on November 4, and he still hasn’t been caught. The robber fired shots at the store’s showcase at Lotus Department Store’s Sena branch, before running…
-
Police arrest 2 Chinese mafia chiefs, 3 slip the net
Thailand’s deputy national police chief revealed yesterday that the authorities have captured two heads of Chinese mafia gangs in the kingdom. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate ‘Big Joke’ Hakparn announced a covert undercover operation managed to successfully arrest two mafia chiefs adding that three heads of illegal activities managed to escape their clutches, fleeing the country on private…
-
Police seize 1,000s of weapons, calming APEC delegates
As Thailand struggles to combat the harm done by the methamphetamine epidemic, in a bizarre statement, police claim to have rounded up more than 60,000 suspects and seized thousands of weapons in cases tied to narcotics and illegal weapons since October 10, “bolstering confidence” among delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok on November 18. Police made…
-
Teacher murders her 5 year old autistic son in southern Thailand
Today, a teacher at a famous school in Hat Yai murdered her autistic 5 year old son by smothering him with a pillow in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. After the murder, she tried to commit suicide by drinking toilet cleaner but ended up critically ill in hospital. Officers from Hat Yai Police Station were called to the scene – a condo…
-
Thai police accused of using power to get free food & drinks
Officers from Krathum Ban Police Station in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok have been accused of using their power to get free food and drinks from a bar in the province. Celebrity Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkird claimed yesterday that a number of police officers frequent a bar named Good Zone several times a month, order food and drinks and allegedly…
-
Flying lanterns near airports in Thailand is punishable by death penalty, warns govt
Flying a lantern near an airport in Thailand is a very serious criminal offence carrying the harshest penalties, even the death penalty, according to government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The spokesperson gave the stern warning at a press conference yesterday while thousands of people prepare to float paper lanterns into the sky to celebrate both Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivals…
-
German man in Pattaya freaks out as officers move in to arrest him for overstaying
A German couple in Pattaya was arrested yesterday for overstaying their visa. Arresting officers at the scene discovered that the man wasn’t going to go without a fight. Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station were answering a routine nuisance neighbour call at Soi Panya Nimit in Nongprue, but when they arrived on the scene they discovered the couple had overstayed their…
-
New Zealand expat arrested in Phuket over weapons, including explosives
A New Zealand expat has been arrested in Phuket for possessing several weapons, including 11 explosives. The man, 63 year old Gareth Alan Davies, was also found to have 19 guns and ammunition in his house in the Kathu district. Region 8 Police Commander Surapong Thanomjit said that Davies had claimed that the weapons were just collectables. But Commander Surapong…
-
Egyptian men who allegedly stole mobile phones from Pattaya guest house arrested
UPDATE Three men who allegedly worked together to steal two mobile phones from a Pattaya guest house have been arrested. CCTV footage showed the second and third suspects walking down Pattaya Second Road the night before. The first and second suspects were also seen heading down Pattaya Second Road to Pattaya Central Road after they left the guest house. The…
-
Police find meth pills, gun, bullets, knife, and axe in man’s car in Patong
Police yesterday found nine meth pills, a gun, 10 bullets, a knife, and an axe in a man’s car in Patong. Patong Police had been alerted by residents that there was a minivan parked in front of a hotel for a long time and that the driver looked suspicious. The police then searched the minivan and found the items. They arrested…
-
Police urge Thailand’s singletons to be wary of online dating perils
Police are urging Thailand’s single women to be aware of the perils of online dating. Commander of Cyber Crime Investigation Division 4, Pol Maj Gen Thitawat Suriyachai, warned Thai singletons at a seminar yesterday to be careful when swiping right on a potential dating partner. He added a number of these online dating profiles are fake and linked to call…
-
Middle Eastern tourists steal phones from Pattaya hotel
Pattaya Police are on the lookout for two Middle Eastern men who robbed two mobile phones yesterday from a hotel at Soi Pattaya Sai Song. A 43 year old member of the hotel staff, Siriwan Saeng-Arun, told police that the two Middle Eastern tourists requested to see a room before booking on Saturday, November 5. Siriwan showed the alleged tourists a…
-
No fury like a ladyboy scorned – toyboy pulls gun
Fury gripped a middle-aged ladyboy in Phatthalung when she caught up with her toyboy lover at a hotel with a woman until he pulled his gun on her. On November 1, Phatthalung police arrested 18 year old Apichart Thongdeepeng on suspicion of threatening to shoot Amnuay Sukkaew, 28 years his senior. The pair say they have been together a year.…
-
Crime analytics – a game-changer for trafficking of illegal firearms
California recently passed a new law that permits private persons to file a civil action against anybody who manufactures, distributes, transports or imports assault weapons or ghost guns, to reduce gun violence in the aftermath of recent mass shootings throughout the country. Despite several such laws being passed worldwide, the illicit trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) continues…
-
Thai carer who beat her lover to death denied parole in UK
A Thai woman in the UK who beat her elderly lover to death with a hammer has been denied parole and permission to move to an open prison. Bunthawee Rimmer, who was 49, at the time of the killing, was jailed for a minimum of 11 years in July 2012 for the murder her lover Paul Norfolk, 77 years old.…
-
Police remove illegal food and drink venues at Phuket beach
Police have on Wednesday removed illegal food and drink venues from a beach in Phuket‘s Thalang district. The police found three venues on Layan Beach that were providing food and drinks, as well as beach chairs, sunbeds, and umbrellas. Two people who said they were owners of two of the outlets were arrested for seeling alcohol without permission, and violating…
-
Fight breaks out on island off Pattaya
A fight broke out in front of a resort on an island off Pattaya on Wednesday night between two groups of people. Security footage captured 6-8 people on motorbikes passing by the resort on Koh Larn and glancing back at another group that was marching toward them on foot. After the group on motorbikes exited the footage, the group was…
-
81-year-old Japanese man arrested for murder after pushing wife’s wheelchair into sea
Police arrested an 81-year-old Japanese man after he allegedly pushed his wheelchair-bound wife into the sea. The man, Hiroshi Fujiwara, was arrested in the Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan with police saying he then admitted to killing his 79-year-old wife. Fujiwara said he was worn out from looking after her as she had been in a wheelchair for the past…
-
VIDEO: Korean tourist in Pattaya says transgender person pickpocketed him
Even though Pattaya’s thieves have largely targeted Indian tourists this year, it appears that when picking targets, people of all nationalities are fair game. A Korean tourist in Pattaya told police that a transgender person pickpocketed him on a beach on Wednesday night. The tourist, 43 year old Sanghyeon Lee, said he was walking on Pattaya Beach with friends when…
-
Bangkok police arrest 15 scammers, seize US$1 million
Bangkok police arrested 15 suspected scammers involved in a barrage of illegal businesses, seizing assets worth more than over 42 million baht (US$1.1 million) yesterday. The arrests follow a series of disturbing incidents, including a raid on a nightclub disguised as a car wash in the Yannawa district, and the death of a tourist after a night out at a…
-
Crazed drug addict buries unconscious victim alive
A crazed drug addict in the Isaan province of Udon Thani faces up to 20 years in prison after he attempted to murder an unconscious man by burying him alive. A police report revealed that Teerawat Suwanno attacked 55 year old Sopa (surname reserved) with a gardening hoe, knocking him unconscious, before attacking his unnamed friend who managed to escape.…
-
Prisoner fakes his own death to escape cell in Pattaya, Thailand
An alleged thief faked his death yesterday in an attempt to escape his cell in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. However, the “dead” prisoner shot up like a bolt when suspecting rescue workers placed ammonia under his nose. Yesterday, officers from Pattaya City Police Station arrested and detained 53 year old Sayan [surname withheld] under suspicion of stealing 50,000…
-
Man arrested for selling homemade guns
A Thai man was arrested yesterday for making homemade guns and selling them via e-commerce platforms. The man revealed that he learned how to produce the barrels from social media. Police raided the home of Phuwadon Rakthinderm in the Kung district of the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat and arrested the 34 year old for producing and selling firearms…
-
Knife-wielding meth addict circles daycare centre in northeast Thailand
A man in a suspected meth-induced psychotic episode took a knife and circled a daycare centre in Non Suwan subdistrict, Buriram province, northeast Thailand yesterday morning. At around 9am, 30 year old Gongphon “Ming” Sehlah arrived at Non Suwan Child Development Centre armed with a knife and began walking around the centre. According to police, Ming entered a methamphetamine-induced psychotic…
-
China to join Thailand in cracking down on transnational crimes
China has pledged to assist Thailand in cracking down on transnational crimes, according to a Facebook post by the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok. The embassy acknowledged several criminal cases that were subject to Thai police investigations. It says the Chinese government places importance on law enforcement and the suppression of illegal narcotics, indecent acts, and gambling. Now, the embassy says…
-
Intruder who attacked US House Speaker’s husband says it was a suicide misison
The intruder who broke into US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and severely injured her husband, says it was a suicide mission. David DePape hit Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer, leaving him unconscious in a pool of blood leaving him to be hospitalised with a skull fracture. DePape was captured and arrested, telling police that he was…
-
Halloween crowd surge casualties prompt raid on Seoul’s police headquarters
After a deadly crowd surge at a Seoul Halloween event left at least 156 people dead, special investigators are raiding the city’s police headquarters. Records released of emergency calls warning that the crowds of Halloween party-goers were becoming too big, prompted the investigation as authorities say police had four hours of advanced warning. Eight locations were searched including the Seoul Metropolitan…
-
Police raid 4 Phuket venues for underage drinking
Raids in Phuket last night saw police targeting businesses accused of selling alcohol to minors. Police say they received numerous complaints that some venues in the area were selling alcohol to children. The legal age for drinking in Thailand is 20 years old. Last night officials from many local and provincial police forces and government departments descended on a number…
-
Vandalised tourist service centre gets makeover in Pattaya
An abandoned vandalised tourist service centre in Pattaya has been cleaned up after several crimes in the area. Pattaya Police, along with City Councilman Nikom Sangkaew, worked together to change the light bulbs and clean up the police box opposite the Royal Garden Plaza on Beach Road. The box has barely offered any services since 2019. Photos by Pattaya Mail…
-
Naked Brit in Koh Samui wants everyone to “meet with God”
A naked British tourist in Koh Samui reportedly has some strange goals for the world. Koh Samui police found the man in the sea at Baan Mae Nam Beach over the Halloween weekend. Boat operators struggled to help get the man out of the water, and the man even grabbed one operator, shoved him under the water and tried to…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.