Thai Immigration Boss Vows New Crackdown On Foreign Criminals In Thailand

[shawndoc]

But how will tourists rent motorbikes any more? Ever time I've rented one they insisted on keeping my passport to insure I'd return the bike.

[billpatt]

Dudes,

times are changing here in the land of smiles,

i have been here 6 years, the mood is different, without being paranoid i sense the change in attitude towards farangs,

but for today it`s cold beers as per,

will worry about it in Thai time,

[jboras]

could be russian, chinese, japanese, white, black, baddies

dont assume its just ol whitey pattaya phuket

ALL

personally i would start with the ones that tattoo their heads

as this is a sign of a baddie

Hey! I have my head Tatooed! I have never smoked, never taken alchohol (in my life), never even got a parking ticket.... so please!

A tatoo make me a criminal element!? Some of us like the art... and a way of covering up the baldness.

[Thormaturge]

This guy must have the easiest job in Thailand.

With the 90 day reporting requirement, all he has to do is tie up those arrest warrants with the criminal's current address and Bob's your uncle.

My job is equally simple, so I'm led to believe.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Thormaturge

[slim]

So let me see if I understand this.

There are hundreds of criminals living in Thailand that the Thai authorities know about but have previously decided they can live here with impunity but are now going to be dealt with.

Do you think they're going to write to them and inform them?

I think the 3 key words in this article are "new Immigratrion boss". It should really read "New Immigration boss vows crackdown of foreign criminals in Thailand until reality sets in"

[bud7]

Let's hope it's not just one more "crackdown" which will go nowhere. This one is needed.

In recent weeks the BIB raided a town house a few doors from us and arrested a guy who it turns out was a Korean mafia guy on the run from the police. He has since been turned over to the Korean police.

About 2 months ago the BIB arrived in force late one night and dragged off 3 black African guys who were living in an apartment block in the same complex as our town house. They had been in possession of and distributing fake $US banknotes.

Interesting that the color of the three men was so important as to warrant mentioning!

[mxyz250newb]

Let's hope it's not just one more "crackdown" which will go nowhere. This one is needed.

In recent weeks the BIB raided a town house a few doors from us and arrested a guy who it turns out was a Korean mafia guy on the run from the police. He has since been turned over to the Korean police.

About 2 months ago the BIB arrived in force late one night and dragged off 3 black African guys who were living in an apartment block in the same complex as our town house. They had been in possession of and distributing fake $US banknotes.

Interesting that the color of the three men was so important as to warrant mentioning!

Why you trying to stir up "racism comments" when I dont think any were made? If he was a white african I am sure he would have mentioned that as well, why are you over sensitive haha

[jboras]

Let's hope it's not just one more "crackdown" which will go nowhere. This one is needed.

In recent weeks the BIB raided a town house a few doors from us and arrested a guy who it turns out was a Korean mafia guy on the run from the police. He has since been turned over to the Korean police.

About 2 months ago the BIB arrived in force late one night and dragged off 3 black African guys who were living in an apartment block in the same complex as our town house. They had been in possession of and distributing fake $US banknotes.

Interesting that the color of the three men was so important as to warrant mentioning!

YES IT IS!

I have 3 Nigerians living in our complex. All dress really well, lots of gold jewelery.

They have shown me notes US$100 covered in coffee that they wash to reveal a "real note". They say they have 20 nillion more notes. The are covered in coffe to avoid detection at the airport. They can bring them in if I can pay US$10,000 to bribe the pilot and I get 20%...

Should I take it?

They bring a different foreigner to their apartment everyday, I am sure they to go through the same process...

Wonder how many payments they have collected.

Please clean all the scum out... even if it leaves 1% of foreigners behind!

Thailand has had enough.

Would you like your house used by criminals to run their, scams, hide from murders, etc... No? Well Thais don't like it either. They were known as the land of smiles until we wiped it off their faces!

Edited February 21, 2010 by jboras

[jhwest]

Well yes the serious criminal sems to get away with anything these days. Yes I have a so called Brother in law who lives in Thailand and he owes me close on a 5 figure sum, maybe chicken feed to some, but to me it is an amount I can not afford to lose.

This "person" has owed me this for nearly 4 years and originally loaned two sums of money in the UK and I have asked for it back well over a 100 times and before always stated do quote " Do not worry u will get your money back. I have even sent him letters and visited his house in Thailand without sucess.

Yet he owns two houses, various land and two businesses, yet he can not pay me back MY MONEY!!!! Very strange indeed

[webfact]

UPDATE

Crackdown Expands to Expel Foreign Criminals

Drew Noyes Special Police Conference 21.02.2010 13:08

Thailand Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt. General Wuthi Liptapallop together with Sanan Kachornprasart

Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt. General Wuthi Liptapallop to Spearhead Hunt for Foreign Criminals in Thailand

In an exclusive interview with the Pattaya Times newspaper a US Marshal based at the US Embassy in Bangkok, he reported, “When we are looking to issue a criminal warrant for crime committed in the US and we know the suspect fled. First we look in Las Vegas. The we look in Bangkok and Pattaya Thailand. These are the easiest places to hide.”

The Pattaya Times attended a special conference in Pattaya where Thailand Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt. General Wuthi Liptapallop agreed Thailand is known worldwide as a safe haven for criminals because of its relatively easy-going visa policies and the large number of foreigners here and was doing something to stop this and catch the foreign criminals.

Police Lt. General Wuthi, who also heads the Transnational Crime Coordination Unit within the bureau, said his unit has been given the identifications of the ''Most Wanted'' people sought by the US's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and INTERPOL.

When the NSB receives information about foreign drug traffickers, we would like to receive the same information here. We want to be linked to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Interpol and to other foreign law enforcement organizations, he said.

At a special conference held at a Jomtien Hotel on Soi 12 on Friday and Saturday Police Lt. General Wuthi spoke in English to representatives of foreign embassies and police organizations stationed in Bangkok.

As proof of this new direction Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop directed the embassy and foreign police officials gathered at the conference to news articles of Korean, Japanese and Danish fugitives caught by Thailand Immigration in English

as reported in the local Pattaya Times newspaper as evidinece of the success of his force.

He pointed out three cases-in-point of the high profile criminals his immigration police have caught and referred foreign representatives to the articles published in the Pattaya Times and on the internet:

http://pattaya-times.com/a5078-thailand-im...korean-fugitive

http://pattaya-times.com/a5087-fugitive-da...raud-in-bangkok

http://pattaya-times.com/a5086-japanese-ya...ted-in-thailand

We will not stand for letting foreign gangs operate in Thailand or criminals to live freely here. This is a tourist destination attracting millions of visitors worldwide. Thailand is safe. The National Criminal Centre will use the databases we have on foreign arrivals and departures at immigration checkpoints along with hotel reports of guests and 90-day reporting of foreigners here on long stay visas to catch the small percentage of foreigners who commit crimes.

Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop said, We will try to classify the various warrants and arrangewarrants into categories depending on the severity of the crimes. Some foreigners are wanted for human trafficking, robbery, terrorism, drugs, murder, kidnapping, rape and other serious charges, while some are wanted for lesser charges.

The new National Criminal Center office will work with INTERPOL, US, Scandinavian, EU countries, Great Britain and Australia, as well as Asian countries to catch fugitives on the run and hiding in Thailand as is necessary to also coordinate between local law enforcement agencies in Thailand working on rooting out transnational crime in Thailand

A branch office will open in a few days at the Chonburi Immigration headquarters on Jomtien Soi 5 led by Police Colonel Athiwit Kamolrat.

The main office will open in March under the command of Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop at the Soi Suan Phlu Immigration office which used to be the main Immigration Bureau office until relocated to a new building on Chiang Wantana where Thai visas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also located.

Both offices will handle police requests from abroad and INTERPOL Red Notices to track down foreign criminals who may be in Thailand.

The crackdown will target more than 2,000 foreign nationals who have outstanding international arrest warrants against them and a list of about 1,000 foreign nationals with arrest warrants issued by Thai courts who have committed crimes while in Thailand.

Pol Lt Gen Wuthi, who served as commissioner of the Narcotic Suppression Bureau (NSB), deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and commander of the Tourist Police (TP), took over as immigration chief in November when there was a reshuffling of many major postings of Thai government public servants and governors.

source: pattaya-times.com

-- Pattaya Times 2010-02-21

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[crazyswede]

yeah. I had a Russian in my bar trying to pay his bill with fake a 100 US dollar bill.

Hey BiB , here´s another one! 5555

[jhwest]

Well it seems that the serious criminal can get away with anything.

I have a so called Brother in law who has owed me close to a five figure sum in Sterling and this was loaned to him nearly 4 years ago in the UK

I must have asked for it back over a 100 times and he has been out here in Thailand for over a year.

To quote " Do not worry u will get your money back and to think I helped him and his wife to pay off his debts.

This "person" owns 2 houses, various land and at least 2 businesses and cars and yet he states he has no money.

I have written to his address her and been down to try and see him, without sucess.

The amount he owes maybe chicken feed to some, but to me represents a huge amount. I am very very pleased that he his very happy taking me for a ride.

[eggomaniac]

just because she stepped out to 7/11 without her purse.

So I guess I will carry mine more often...

It takes some guts to admit you carry a purse

[yabaaaa]

What he has noticed is a lack of cooperation between local law enforcement agencies on transnational crime in Thailand. "While I was assigned to the TP, the CIB and the NSB, I found that there was always a lack of co-ordination between them in combating transnational crime," he said.

Does this mean he is missing out on his "cut"

Carrying a passport is not something we thought up in Thailand, but a normal regulation in many countries. I have been to

I dont remember any country Ive been to that required this?

"During the investigation I conducted over the past two months, I found that the standards are not the same

No really? ok can we start with Sam Roi Yot not issuing usufructs as they are afraid of the big boss in the area who wants money to do it when it can really be done for 100 baht?

[kratiam]

Nice thought but bet the execution is all politicking... BS to say the least.

well if its gonna happen the BIB have picked the right guy for the job - Pol Gen Wuthi Liptapallop is one of the most respected officers in the force here -- and if he is heading up this clampdown it sure will happen -- he has a long distinguished list of busts to his credit = and one of the few who has the strengths to get this job done - good to see that immigration finally has someone in charge with the balls to get things done -- i wish him all the very best -

Good post!

[notime]

I think it may be easier just to "crack-down" and remove ALL foreigners from Thailand. At least they are easy to indentify. As many Thai people know only too well, all foreigners are either suspected criminals or exibit behaviour so alien to them that it borders on criminality. Plus .. they (farang) have "too much money" that also doesn't fit quite well with the local, hard-working, low-paid, polite and respectful people

Hmm .. on the second thought some foreigners may actually leave with some of their money still attached to them so seeing IT go will be a bit SAD.

[ianf]

With all due respect (or not) to board members, if this policy was strictly enforced, for 80% of all male foreigners living or visiting in the Kingdom, it would be Hasta-la-bye-bye...but of course, its not going to happen..

Really? What about this new policy would target your typical visitor? It specifically mentions going after those with Thai warrants out on them and working with police in other countries to help locate and detail those that are hiding out in Thailand from warrants back home.

I doubt 80% of farangs are on the run from the law in their home countries.

To say that 80pc of expats are on the run is sheer nonsense. I know many expats here in Chiang Mai of all nationalities - and they are, without exception, good honourable people who dserve their piece of peace her in Thailand. People write such poppycock sometimes!

[yabaaaa]

Well yes the serious criminal sems to get away with anything these days. Yes I have a so called Brother in law who lives in Thailand and he owes me close on a 5 figure sum, maybe chicken feed to some, but to me it is an amount I can not afford to lose.

This "person" has owed me this for nearly 4 years and originally loaned two sums of money in the UK and I have asked for it back well over a 100 times and before always stated do quote " Do not worry u will get your money back. I have even sent him letters and visited his house in Thailand without sucess.

Yet he owns two houses, various land and two businesses, yet he can not pay me back MY MONEY!!!! Very strange indeed

Tell the new chief then!

[mattcha]

so if you have a unpaid parking fine or speeding ticket..does this make you a criminal? i better watch out..i might be kicked out..

that would be an infraction... infractions are NOT crimes! cops in the USA for example, have jurisdiction ONLY in criminal matters, and CANNOT enforce traffic violations/ infractions... they step outisde their authority.... but yet the racketeering continues!

Anyone know the boundaries of cops in thailand?

[yabaaaa]

We will not stand for letting foreign gangs operate in Thailand or criminals to live freely here

OK so they will be asking for more money now then?

[yabaaaa]

so if you have a unpaid parking fine or speeding ticket..does this make you a criminal? i better watch out..i might be kicked out..

that would be an infraction... infractions are NOT crimes! cops in the USA for example, have jurisdiction ONLY in criminal matters, and CANNOT enforce traffic violations/ infractions... they step outisde their authority.... but yet the racketeering continues!

Anyone know the boundaries of cops in thailand?

Yeah Laos, Cambodia, Malayasia, Burma etc etc apart from that anything goes

[brianb1944]

Let's hope it's not just one more "crackdown" which will go nowhere. This one is needed.

In recent weeks the BIB raided a town house a few doors from us and arrested a guy who it turns out was a Korean mafia guy on the run from the police. He has since been turned over to the Korean police.

About 2 months ago the BIB arrived in force late one night and dragged off 3 black African guys who were living in an apartment block in the same complex as our town house. They had been in possession of and distributing fake $US banknotes.

Interesting that the color of the three men was so important as to warrant mentioning!

Thats an extremely paranoid observation, the description was merely accurate.

[brianb1944]

could be russian, chinese, japanese, white, black, baddies

dont assume its just ol whitey pattaya phuket

ALL

personally i would start with the ones that tattoo their heads

as this is a sign of a baddie

Hey! I have my head Tatooed! I have never smoked, never taken alchohol (in my life), never even got a parking ticket.... so please!

A tatoo make me a criminal element!? Some of us like the art... and a way of covering up the baldness.

have you got rabbits tattooed on your head, from a distance they look like hares?

[earlbrownuk]

If someone who is high profile and they don't wanna be found, then they won't. It's only the criminals that have no coin loitering around soi 6,7,8 and the cheap soi up pattaya tai. Then you get the stupid criminals who like splashing the cash.

The more serious criminal hides away, and mixes in with the crowd, does not talk to anyone about is life, and is more alert to all this BS than they know. The best will never get caught only the small timers.

Believe it or not some of the best hackers are in Thailand, try and find em, you can't because they are known as ghosts, and they get the intel before it happens.

[neverdie]

Think the two high profile threads about the bogus SWAT operative and the Belgian biker may have some relation to this.

Ive always suspected Kanchanburi to be a good place for Australian futugitives

[whiterussian]

To say that 80pc of expats are on the run is sheer nonsense. I know many expats here in Chiang Mai of all nationalities - and they are, without exception, good honourable people who dserve their piece of peace her in Thailand. People write such poppycock sometimes!

Keep it quiet ian! Nothing to see up here in Lanna country, boring as hel_l, just jungle, no beach, no full moon parties, and a tiny red light zone. Nothing to see here, move on. The Chinese triads run the show here, no room for naff farang mafia.

Edited February 21, 2010 by whiterussian

[backsoon]

Nice thought but bet the execution is all politicking... BS to say the least.

well if its gonna happen the BIB have picked the right guy for the job - Pol Gen Wuthi Liptapallop is one of the most respected officers in the force here -- and if he is heading up this clampdown it sure will happen -- he has a long distinguished list of busts to his credit = and one of the few who has the strengths to get this job done - good to see that immigration finally has someone in charge with the balls to get things done -- i wish him all the very best -

Sorry, do not know anything about the General, but I wish him well. God help him to do his job successfylly!

[selftaopath]

Good golly. That's going to put a dent in the bar revenues of Pattaya and Phuket. Looks like there's going to be a stream of refugees heading for the seedier parts of Cambodia if they actually do what they say they will do.

Good one. Lack of Sanctions (LOS) is know world wide for NOT doing what it says it will do. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. LOL what a concept. He said, "Thailand is known worldwide as a safe haven for criminals because of its relatively easy-going visa policies and.."

and corrupt police. LOL so let's lock up ??? who???? Isn't it known that if one has MONEY they will not be locked up? Maybe just another way of fleecing the other crooks? LOL and what a funny place. But the Thai people deserve better.

[alstaxi]

"We will not stand for letting foreign gangs operate in Thailand or criminals to live freely here"

So domestic gangs are quite acceptable???? " When will the police crackdown on the police" That's gonna happen real soon, hold your breath.

[backsoon]

Nice thought but bet the execution is all politicking... BS to say the least.

well if its gonna happen the BIB have picked the right guy for the job - Pol Gen Wuthi Liptapallop is one of the most respected officers in the force here -- and if he is heading up this clampdown it sure will happen -- he has a long distinguished list of busts to his credit = and one of the few who has the strengths to get this job done - good to see that immigration finally has someone in charge with the balls to get things done -- i wish him all the very best -

Sorry, do not know anything about the General, but I wish him well. God help him to do his job successfylly!

I mean, successfully, of course.