Operation Dragon Slayer: Police Raids Target Chinese Crime-Linked Villas

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Police in Chon Buri province have launched a series of raids, targeting luxurious villas suspecting connections to Chinese criminal enterprises. These dramatic developments are part of a wider operation dubbed "Dragon Slayer," aimed at cracking down on illegal Chinese investments in Thailand's tourism sector.

 

This Sunday, officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division, under the directive of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), descended upon five properties in the vibrant region of Chon Buri.

 

These premises, known for housing an influx of Chinese tourists, are suspected of being purchased and funded through illicit means by Chinese nationals.

 

The core of these investigations rests on allegations that money accumulated from criminal activities, including notorious call-centre scams, was being laundered into Thailand's booming hospitality market.

 

The accused Chinese entities allegedly funnelled these funds into prime real estate, setting up villas specifically targeting Chinese tourists as clientele.

Upon inspection, the targeted villas, each boasting extravagant poolside features, were collectively valued at over 20 million Thai Baht. These properties catered heavily to Chinese visitors who settled payments in cash, varied foreign currencies, and cutting-edge digital transactions, a move possibly designed to obscure their financial trails.

 

What further complicates the matter are the tangled webs of ownership. The CIB's findings suggest that these properties were legally registered under names of local companies, apparently set up to run organised tours and related hospitality services.

 

However, these corporate entities masked the real ownerships, with over 40 such companies allegedly acting as facades for the true Chinese owners pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

 

Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Authorities are currently piecing together evidence to ascertain the full scale of this secretive operation. It's believed that the local signees, purported as proprietors, might merely be proxy entities, lending their names to protect the identities of the original investors.

 

This layered obfuscation strategy is commonly employed in money laundering operations to distance true owners from their illegal investments.

 

The raids send a clear message about the intent to dismantle the nexus of crime infiltrating the Thai tourism industry. However, the operation is far from over as the authorities continue to pursue more leads, promising further actions and potential arrests in upcoming phases, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Thailand, a magnet for global tourism, faces challenges in maintaining its integrity against such underhanded practices. While the outcome of Operation Dragon Slayer will unfold over time, it stands as a crucial step in safeguarding the nation’s economic stability and its reputable tourism sector.

 

-- 2025-01-27

 

 

[Harsh Jones]

Lets hear it farang boomers "ban Chinese, Indian and Russians!"

[Woke to Sounds]

Call centre scams ... trending!

 

Brown envelopes delayed?

 

Throw the book at these entrepreneurs and seriously rethink open door visa policy.

[jippytum]

Making raids with the press photographer in tow are fine. However arrests and convictions are scarce.  

Sadly  perhaps the wiley Chineese who can afford top lawyers  may be  more than a match for the RTP. 

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

The core of these investigations rests on allegations that money accumulated from criminal activities, including notorious call-centre scams, was being laundered into Thailand's booming hospitality market.

Just wait and see what would happen when you have huge entertainment and Casino complexes...

[Elkski]

Operation dragon Slayer.   Lol

[SanSaiExPat]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Police in Chon Buri province have launched a series of raids, targeting luxurious villas suspecting connections to Chinese criminal enterprises. These dramatic developments are part of a wider operation dubbed "Dragon Slayer," aimed at cracking down on illegal Chinese investments in Thailand's tourism sector.

 

This Sunday, officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division, under the directive of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), descended upon five properties in the vibrant region of Chon Buri.

 

These premises, known for housing an influx of Chinese tourists, are suspected of being purchased and funded through illicit means by Chinese nationals.

 

The core of these investigations rests on allegations that money accumulated from criminal activities, including notorious call-centre scams, was being laundered into Thailand's booming hospitality market.

 

The accused Chinese entities allegedly funnelled these funds into prime real estate, setting up villas specifically targeting Chinese tourists as clientele.

 

Upon inspection, the targeted villas, each boasting extravagant poolside features, were collectively valued at over 20 million Thai Baht. These properties catered heavily to Chinese visitors who settled payments in cash, varied foreign currencies, and cutting-edge digital transactions, a move possibly designed to obscure their financial trails.

 

What further complicates the matter are the tangled webs of ownership. The CIB's findings suggest that these properties were legally registered under names of local companies, apparently set up to run organised tours and related hospitality services.

 

However, these corporate entities masked the real ownerships, with over 40 such companies allegedly acting as facades for the true Chinese owners pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

 

Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Authorities are currently piecing together evidence to ascertain the full scale of this secretive operation. It's believed that the local signees, purported as proprietors, might merely be proxy entities, lending their names to protect the identities of the original investors.

 

This layered obfuscation strategy is commonly employed in money laundering operations to distance true owners from their illegal investments.

 

The raids send a clear message about the intent to dismantle the nexus of crime infiltrating the Thai tourism industry. However, the operation is far from over as the authorities continue to pursue more leads, promising further actions and potential arrests in upcoming phases, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Thailand, a magnet for global tourism, faces challenges in maintaining its integrity against such underhanded practices. While the outcome of Operation Dragon Slayer will unfold over time, it stands as a crucial step in safeguarding the nation’s economic stability and its reputable tourism sector.

 

-- 2025-01-27

 

 

The two star Army officer could use a new barber.  His haircut is worse than Bill Bob's in 'Slingblade".

[wombat]

28 minutes ago, Elkski said:

Operation dragon Slayer.   Lol

The lead BiB ...his name was George, so I believe...I could be wrong of course.

[ronster]

They will be busy then . Pretty sure a lot of Chinese owning large amounts of property or living in gated communities aren't here for the beaches , weather and food !

[Ironmike]

And the powers that be thought it was a good idea to open the boundaries with easy visas and allow anyone in, it's a joke time to close the doors,, if people want to come here on long term visas then they need to show money in the bank same as we do. 

[TheFishman1]

So the house is brought in corporation name France let’s see what ends up happening usually read about this stuff for weeks later you hear nothing so the brown envelopes are past hands and everything goes back to normal TIT talking about normal whatever happened with the Red Bull kid where is the red notice Amazing Thailand

[mikebell]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand, a magnet for global tourism, faces challenges in maintaining its integrity

How can you maintain what it never had?

[Yagoda]

Translation: Whither come Chinese, comes crime.

[riverhigh]

Article Summary:

Chonburi Police: "Where is my piece of the pie?". The Chinese mafia should be reminded that sharing is caring.

[ignore it]

Gong Hei Fat Choi

and 

Crappy New Year!

[petedk]

Why only Chonburi?

 

There are many of these "premises" in Bangkok.

 

[Justanotherone]

no AI to check bank accounts from chinese, russians with a huge influx of money each month without working but buying businesses , houses and condo's?

[champers]

Stable door, bolted horse.

[spidermike007]

Well there's no doubt that Thailand invited them in to begin with with their incredibly lenient visa policies and their lack of screening. So the Triads and the Russian Bratva are freely operating within Thailand's borders at this time. It's probably pissing off a lot of local bigwigs, politicians, police and mafia figures because they are likely stronger and smarter than the local mafia guys, and if there is a real crackdown happening it's likely due to that.

 

The question is will there be any convictions? 

[Purdey]

Setting aside the usual racism about the Chinese, there is a case for investigating criminals of all nationalities. However, as the local plod cannot be entrusted to track foreign criminals, perhaps AI could be brought in to find the links between length of stay versus length of visas issued and names of those wanted on charges in other countries.

[Reddavy]

13 hours ago, Harsh Jones said:

Lets hear it farang boomers "ban Chinese, Indian and Russians!"

OK. Ban indian Chinese and Russians 🤷🏼

[DaRoadrunner]

Brown envelope time again. Then back to business as usual. So long as we maintain our image and integrity.

[Briggsy]

Operation Dragon Slayer : Dragons Slayed : 0