Crime Police Capture Ransom Gang After 18-Year-Old Girl Abducted

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Daily News.

 

A police operation across southern Thailand has led to the arrest of four men involved in the abduction of an 18-year-old woman for ransom. The gang, which kidnapped the victim from her home in Trang Province and demanded 300,000 baht for her release, was intercepted in Satun in the early hours of the morning of 2 August.

 

The arrest was the result of a coordinated effort by Region 9 Provincial Police, working with officers from Trang and Satun, Si Kao Police Station and the Satun Highway Police. Two vehicles used in the abduction were stopped at a checkpoint on Yantarakarn Khamthorn Road in Thung Nui, Khuan Kalong District, Satun Province at approximately 02.00. The victim was safely rescued.

 

The suspects were named as:

 

• Mr Prateep, also known as Long, 45 – the alleged ringleader, who has a criminal record and is currently listed as wanted, by the Royal Thai Police, in connection with a 2022 robbery of methamphetamine seized as evidence in a special operation in Songkhla.

• Mr Chokchai, alias Bao, 34

• Mr Sila, alias Jo, 30

• Mr Woranan, alias Muen, 35

 

The incident began at 12:30 on 1 August, when the gang stormed the home of the victim, Ms Onnaparin, in Moo 3, Mai Fak subdistrict, Si Kao district, Trang. Armed with a gun, Mr Prateep forced the young woman into a black car and fled the scene.

 

Her husband, Mr Chinawat, reported the kidnapping to Si Kao Police. Officers quickly responded by instructing him to continue negotiating with the abductors to stall for time while police reviewed CCTV footage and tracked the suspects’ escape route.

 

Investigators traced the vehicles through Palian District in Trang and into neighbouring Satun Province. At 02.30 on 2 August, police intercepted the cars at the Thung Nui security checkpoint and successfully apprehended all four suspects without incident.

 

The suspects have been transferred back to Si Kao Police Station in Trang, the location of the original abduction, where they will face multiple charges including armed kidnapping, unlawful detention and extortion.

 

Police Colonel Somphong Suwannawong and Police Colonel Sakda Charoenkul, Deputy Commanders of the Region 9 Investigation Division, led the operation, which was praised for its swift and coordinated response.

 

Authorities have confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, and further charges may follow.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-08-03