Govt Drive Against Mafia Gangs Steps Up

Govt drive against mafia gangs steps up

Axe will also drop on loan sharks

BANGKOK: -- The Bo Bae Market extortion scam has led government agencies to broaden suppression of other mafia gangs, including loan sharks, across Bangkok.

Interior Minister Chidchai Wannasathit pledged to step up the city-wide anti-mafia campaign sparked by the recent assault of Bo Bae Market garment traders by thugs demanding protection money.

Pol Gen Chidchai said the campaign would target not only rich mafia syndicates but also lesser-known gangs, loan sharks and extortionists of all types taking advantage of the ''little people'' who lived hand-to-mouth.

Mafia activities are considered to be criminal offences and police inspector-general Seripisut Temiyavej has been picked to lead the anti-mafia team.

The Seripisut team is to work side-by-side with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to impose order on street vending, which has long been a legal twilight zone prone to mafia control.

Pol Gen Chidchai said the team would enforce relevant laws and re-organise the street vending of micro traders.

Street vendors needed to be properly supervised because proceeds could be converted into loan collateral, he said.

The interior minister said the police had provided a list of mafia figures in Bangkok. Officers assigned to the Bo Bae probe were in the middle of compiling evidence after two assault suspects surrendered to police on Thursday.

Pol Gen Chidchai said victims of extortion should come forward and mafia figures wishing to ''redeem themselves'' should report to Pol Gen Seripisut.

Meanwhile, Pol Gen Seripisut said the traders would also need to playby the rules in order to plug the loopholes that allowed mafia gangs to pick on them. Unscrupulous state officials clearly had a hand in extracting ill-gotten gains from the traders and they would be punished, he said adding police themselves turned a blind eye to gangs who illegally charged motorists who parked on some streets.

Two suspects, Sawaeng Duangsaeng and Thanakit Srinakhon, now remanded in police custody in connection with the Bo Bae trader assault began their initial 12-day detention at the South Bangkok Criminal Court yesterday.

They were seen in video footage involved in a melee at the market where a group of men beat up traders. They have been charged with colluding in the extortion.

--Bangkok Post 2005-04-02