Three Indian tourists have been rescued by Thai police after being kidnapped, tortured and held for ransom for five days in Pattaya in what investigators believe is a new form of scam targeting foreign visitors.

The rescue took place at around 4pm on 27 July after officers from Pattaya City Police, Chonburi Immigration, Nong Prue Police and investigators from all three agencies surrounded a townhouse in Moo 13, Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district. Members of the Pattaya Indian Association also assisted the operation.

Police said the suspected kidnappers fled on motorcycles moments before officers entered the property. Inside, they found three Indian men bound with their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths taped shut.

Victims lured by cheap Thailand tour

The victims were identified as Himanshu, 23, Ahis, 24, and Meghid, 26. All three had visible injuries, including severe bruising to both ankles, which they said had been repeatedly beaten with a wooden object. One victim had also been sprayed with paint to resemble blood.

According to the victims, they had each paid around 70,000 baht for a seven-day tour of Thailand. After arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 5am on 21 July, they took a taxi to Pattaya, where they were collected one at a time on motorcycles on Sukhumvit Road and taken to the townhouse.

Through an interpreter, the men told police they were tied up by five men, believed to be four Pakistani nationals and one Indian national. They alleged they were suspended upside down, beaten, denied food and water, and prevented from using the toilet while being forced to telephone relatives in India to demand a ransom.

The kidnappers allegedly used satellite phone connections routed through the United Arab Emirates to contact family members and demanded a total of 7 million Indian rupees, equivalent to about 2.5 million baht, in exchange for the men’s release.

Pictures courtesy of Amarin

After being freed, the three men immediately contacted relatives in India to tell them they had been rescued safely.

Police hunting five suspects

Pol Col Napatphong Kositsuriyamanee, chief of Chonburi Immigration Police, said the operation began after relatives in India contacted Thai authorities fearing the men had been abducted. He said tracing the victims proved difficult because the calls were made using telecommunications routed through the UAE.

Police believe five suspects were involved - four Pakistani nationals and one Indian national - but all escaped before officers entered the house. Investigators are continuing efforts to identify and arrest them.

Authorities believe the case may represent a new scam model in which victims are lured to Thailand with inexpensive package tours before being kidnapped and held for ransom.

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28 July 2026

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Not much point in holding poor people to ransom (risk vs reward)!

Very bad image for tourism in Thailand once again

Thailand is becoming a top destination for quality criminals. I look forward to reading the news once the direct flights from India to Chiang Mai begin.

34 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Not much point in holding poor people to ransom (risk vs reward)!

Warning...this is what happens to you when you upset the ladyboys !!

Just another reason to avoid the tours. Always preferred independent travel. And also prefer to avoid torture, whenever possible.

Pattaya in the news again, for all the wrong reasons.

1 hour ago, Effective altruism said:

Thailand is becoming a top destination for quality criminals. I look forward to reading the news once the direct flights from India to Chiang Mai begin.

Indeed, there seems to be more of this kind of thing going on, Thai immigration need to do better vetting of incoming foreigners?

Tourism is extremely important to Thailand, and this is a complete Public Relations Nightmare. These criminals must be subjected to the most harsh penalties the Thai system allows, and it must be made public that when you "F Around" with Thailand's tourist industry ... you are for sure going to "Find Out!" It must be shouted form the roof tops, "Anyone thinking of kidnapping and extortion in The Kingdom, we will find you, and that will beginning of the worst life one can imagine."

70.000 THB for a 7 day tour is not cheap. Also, from the VDO at Shukumvit these guys were dressed properly. So I doubt they were "poor"

The police somehow found the house where they were held - how did they manage to have 5 guys escape??

2 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Not much point in holding poor people to ransom (risk vs reward)!

They were poor? Just flown in from India for a holiday touring Thailand!

Edited July 28Jul 28 by Liverpool Lou

funny how all the kidnappers managed to flee just before the police arrived

21 minutes ago, AsiaCheese said:

The police somehow found the house where they were held - how did they manage to have 5 guys escape??

Exactly the same thought I had! My initial reaction was that they must have been tipped off. How can a police unit be so utterly incompetent. Didn't they have back up ready to capture fleeing suspeccts.

1 hour ago, JustinTyme said:

Tourism is extremely important to Thailand, and this is a complete Public Relations Nightmare. These criminals must be subjected to the most harsh penalties the Thai system allows, and it must be made public that when you "F Around" with Thailand's tourist industry ... you are for sure going to "Find Out!" It must be shouted form the roof tops, "Anyone thinking of kidnapping and extortion in The Kingdom, we will find you, and that will beginning of the worst life one can imagine."

Copletely agree. This is a complete Public Relations Nightmare. The kidnappers need to be prosecuted to fullest and any police / public officials that might be involved. As pointed out already, how did these kidnappers escape do easily.

2 hours ago, SingAPorn said:

Very bad image for tourism in Thailand once again

Yes, but I am sure TAT can spin this around...somehow?

15 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Yes, but I am sure TAT can spin this around...somehow?

Thai Police have successfully pulled off a covert operation where agents posed as tourists to foil a kidnap / extortion plot. This resulted in a 100% end to any threat of this type of crime, and demonstrates the deep capability of the Thai law enforcement teams to maximize AI assisted research and convert it to action with well coordinated "sting" operations. Thailand remains the Hub of Safety for Tourism!

44 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

They were poor? Just flown in from India for a holiday touring Thailand!

Doesn't make them rich!

THB 70.000,-- for a 7 days tour in Thailand is not really cheap.

14 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Doesn't make them rich!

doesn't make them poor either.

2 hours ago, JustinTyme said:

These criminals must be subjected to the most harsh penalties the Thai system allows, and it must be made

Kidnapping, extortion, torture, damaging the tourism industry.

100 years sentence minimum?

Not only that. Throw in a free guided tour around Thailand with unlimited Pad Thai and free flow alcohol for these chaps who had to suffer this horrendous ordeal.

Edited July 28Jul 28 by save the frogs

That's what happens, when all nationalities are randomly invited to visit Thailand. Thailand never had a plan to keep the criminals from entering disguised as tourists.

1 hour ago, jippytum said:

funny how all the kidnappers managed to flee just before the police arrived

Indeed- particularly as the house was evidently surrounded

That is scary stuff!

1 hour ago, Xonax said:

That's what happens, when all nationalities are randomly invited to visit Thailand. Thailand never had a plan to keep the criminals from entering disguised as tourists.

"Said the non Thai." OMG, you can't make this stuff up! But let's face it ... that red hat tells the whole story. 555!!!

I'd be looking more high up the ladder to who paid the suspected kidnappers and possibly tipped them off as the raid was about to take place. look closer to home maybe.

10 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Authorities believe the case may represent a new scam model in which victims are lured to Thailand with inexpensive package tours before being kidnapped and held for ransom.

That doesn't look like a great business model to me, especially if the victims are lured to Thailand by a cheap tour. Wouldn't simply scamming them by selling them a nonexistent tour be much easier and also much more scalable?

Unfortunately Thailand doesn’t get it yet. More and more bad things happening and they still think they are a top family friendly destination. Someone needs to wake them up to reality. Doesn’t help matters when the PM hates foreigners and now especially the retired farang community. Hopefully they will hit rock bottom soon and try to dig themselves out. If they don’t want tourists or retirees then close the borders and kick them all out. Better than treating like sht and just taking their money. I’m Sure they will do fine without us all. I don’t like the idea, but it seems they do. What happened to The land of Smiles? Long gone for many Thai and Foreigners alike. Sad

5 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Indeed, there seems to be more of this kind of thing going on, Thai immigration need to do better vetting of incoming foreigners?

Really? I recall reading about all types of crime in the Costa del Pattaya since 2002 when I first lurked in TV.

Thailand is a world renowned hideout for all types of criminals, petty and organized, and always has been. Kidnappings, murders. (Gr)easy entry, a corrupt to the core 'police farce' and bountiful cheap sex for crims on R+R.

Admittedly the authorities do seem to have been making a serious attempt recently to try and stem the worst of it at all levels. It'll be interesting to see if this is a genuine social/cultural development, or if it just gets bogged down again under the weight and inertia of the ubiquitous corruption. Let's see how it develops.

So the police could locate the townhouse even though the criminals used a satellite phone routed via UAE?

Then they arrive just as the kidnappers left?

Perhaps the victim's families had already paid a ransom, and they were given the address and passed it to the police, who arrived to 'rescue' the victims after the kidnappers were safely on their way?

Just a theory, and I hope the police managed to find them before a ransom was paid, and I hope they catch the kidnappers before they leave for Pakistan, but we don't seem to have the full story.

9 hours ago, SingAPorn said:

Very bad image for tourism in Thailand once again

Looked like an Indian scam not a Thai scam.