Thailand remains a major holiday destination for British travellers, with more than a million visiting each year, but claims of organised crime, intimidation and scams have prompted renewed warnings for tourists and foreign residents.
Thai authorities have announced another crackdown on “influential figures” after reports of safety incidents and assaults involving foreign tourists on the country’s holiday islands. Officials said any state employees found to have helped offenders, turned a blind eye or facilitated offences would face legal action to the fullest extent.
The issue first gained international attention after British backpackers David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found dead on Koh Tao in 2014. Local police at the time said there was "100 per cent" no mafia, although plans were announced to raid influential rackets and illegitimate businesses.
British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller
Sean McAnna, then 25, a friend of Mr Miller, later claimed he had unknowingly met alleged gang members at a bar and was pressured to accept responsibility for the murders. The Scottish busker said he was told, "You die tonight", and left the islands fearing for his life.
Sean McAnna
Island killings and criminal network claims
In June this year, Koh Samui taxi driver Sikharin Promcharoen, 31, was beaten and fatally shot six times after dropping tourists on a popular strip. The case was suspected of links to the alleged "Samui taxi mafia", although police said the shooting followed a personal dispute.
The alleged gunman and 11 other suspects were arrested. Sikharin's family reportedly left the island after receiving suspicious calls asking about their whereabouts, amid fears of retaliation.
Jonathan Wheeler, 65, from Southampton, told The Sun that Thai criminal groups were usually smaller, family-based networks rather than a Sicilian-style mafia. Wheeler spent 18 years in Thai prison after attempting to smuggle 4lb of heroin from the country in 1994, and later wrote the memoir The Tiger Cage: 18 Years In Thai Prison.
He alleged that groups, particularly on the islands, were involved in drugs, prostitution, extortion and protection rackets. Some, he claimed, worked with triad style groups such as 14K in the movement of drugs and the buying and selling of women for sex. These allegations have not been independently verified.
Wheeler said contract killings were allegedly often carried out by men on motorcycles, sometimes for as little as GBP200. He further claimed illegally obtained handguns sold for about GBP330, M16 rifles for GBP500 and grenades for GBP11, with some weapons allegedly stolen from police and military armouries.
Thai officers have seized at least 51 assault rifles stolen from armouries in the past five years. In May, police recovered two M16 rifles, 790 rounds of ammunition, grenades, mines and nearly 5kg of explosives allegedly sold to Chinese man in Pattaya.
Tourist scams are the more immediate risk
For visitors, the more likely danger is a scam or dispute rather than direct contact with organised crime. A foreign resident identified only as Luke said there was "a scammer on every corner", citing people allegedly posing as police to fine drunk tourists and jet-ski rental operators claiming costly damage after a vehicle breaks down.
He also described drivers on Bolt or Grab cancelling app bookings, requesting cash payments, then demanding fares up to 10 times the original rate on arrival.
For foreigners, practical safeguards include keeping transport bookings and receipts, checking rental agreements before paying deposits, avoiding unofficial cash transport arrangements and contacting Tourist Police if threatened or accused of damage. Visitors should not assume an official-looking person is a police officer without checking identification.
Foreign investors urged to seek legal advice
Rich Mason, 45, from Leicestershire, claimed he lost GBP100,000 after investing in gym firm Legacy Muscle Universe Company Limited. He alleged the Thai owners withheld dividends, blocked his number and tried to have him deported through a false police report.
Mason said the owners claimed links to the Thai mafia and made threats against him and his friends. The company owners denied his allegations when contacted by The Sun, saying he would be paid on the one-year anniversary of his investment. Mason disputes that this was their agreement and says no money has materialised.
He remains in Thailand recovering after being run over in March, an incident which left him with broken feet, pneumonia and blood clots in his lung and leg. He said foreign investors should not start or buy into a Thai business without substantial money, reliable legal representation and complete confidence in their partners.
The Royal Thai Government and Royal Thai Police did not respond to The Sun. The Tourism Authority of Thailand praised the newspaper for raising the issue but said it could not comment further.
Pictures courtesy of The Sun - Rich Mason
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15 August 2026
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