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EDITORIAL
Clamp down on transnational crime in Thailand
The Nation

Authorities need to get tougher on foreign criminals and the corrupt police officers who protect them.

BANGKOK: -- We are hearing about more criminal cases involving foreign expatriates in Thailand. Recently, the skeleton of a Hungarian billionaire was found on Samui Island. The man was believed to be a victim of a Hungarian-Israeli businessman being detained at Phuket Prison for the murder of another Hungarian earlier this year. The detained businessman, who went by another name in Hungary, is wanted in his own country, having fled after being sentenced to seven years in jail for fraud.

The Kingdom has become a haven - even a "heaven" in some cases - for foreign criminals escaping the hand of the law in their homelands. They include drug traffickers, murderers, paedophiles, con men and thieves.

Tourist centres like Phuket, Pattaya, Samui and Chiang Mai have become popular with foreign criminals and gangsters. While some of them are still directly involved in crime, others run legitimate businesses as fronts for illegal activities. Some extort their compatriots for protection money while others are involved in serious crimes such as murder, human smuggling, illicit drugs and other underground businesses.

Some foreign nationals who are wanted by the police in their home countries or by Interpol have been arrested in Thailand. They include Italian mafia boss Vito Roberto Palazzolo, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and several paedophiles.

Some of these foreign men with criminal backgrounds choose to marry Thai women in order to bypass the law that prevents foreigners from owning property here. This helps them them to set up and run their own businesses in Thailand.

Foreigners routinely contribute to Thailand in creative and helpful ways. Some have set up projects that benefit the poor, the less privileged, and others who need assistance in our society, while at the same time many wealthy and powerful Thais get ever more selfish and greedy, to the detriment of their less-fortunate compatriots.

However, there are now more and more foreigners - many with criminal backgrounds in their own countries - who take advantage of Thailand's relatively generous immigration policy, particularly toward nationals from wealthier countries.

Visas on arrival can be obtained easily. While this is convenient for tourists, foreign criminals find this satisfactory too, since the background check is not as tough as when applying for a visa at an embassy or a consulate.

When in Thailand, it is not difficult for foreign criminals to obtain false documents. Thailand is still known as a source of good-quality fake passports.

Good connections with local officials, particularly the police, also prove helpful for foreign criminals, allowing them to operate and stay undetected for a long period in their new home somewhere in Thailand. Regular bribes allow corrupt police officers to turn a blind eye to them and their questionable activities. Criminals such as German swindler Wolfgang Uelrich and Danish drug trafficker Rene Larsen were known to have close connections with the Pattaya police while they were residents in the resort city, before their separate arrests and eventual extradition to their respective countries.

A more efficient system should be developed to screen out foreigners with criminal records, particularly at the country's airports. The immigration authorities should set up more branches of the Transnational Crime Data Centre, like the one at their Pattaya office, in other tourist centres to help track down nefarious expatriates.

Corruption within the police force, again, is to blame for the prosperity of foreign gangsters. Good ties with the local police provide protection from the law. Police supervisors should be more serious about this and make sure no foreign criminals go undetected because of collusion on the part of their subordinates


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

[Locationthailand]

"... Corruption within the police force, again, is to blame for the prosperity of foreign gangsters. Good ties with the local police provide protection from the law. Police supervisors should be more serious about this and make sure no foreign criminals go undetected because of collusion on the part of their subordinates."

They could start in Dubai as that criminal has raped and pillaged Thailand more than all these other crooks combined but with his Police protection he continues to ride roughshod over Thailand and its weaknesses.

[rkidlad]

It's as if the police who are protecting these 'foreign criminals' only care about money and nothing else. That's not fair on the local criminals who were born and bred in Thailand and have a birthright to commit and profit from crime without competition.

Life truly can be unfair sometimes.

[noitom]

Busting these criminal foreigners is a good thing. But not busting any Thai corrupted government , police, and Thai Mr. Bigs only denies the root cause of the real problem as to why Thailand is a haven. Add to that the cheap rice of sex compared to other havens and you have a true "haven" formula. When Thais announce that some corrupted Thai government, police and Thai Mr. Bigs are carried off in handcuffs, the problem of foreign criminals "buying" their way in will merely continue. Thais are in denial about this and the newspaper never smokes out the true problem in Thai society.

[bkkgriz]

"Corruption within the police force, again, is to blame for the prosperity of foreign gangsters. Good ties with the local police provide protection from the law. Police supervisors should be more serious about this and make sure no foreign criminals go undetected because of collusion on the part of their subordinates."

Have no fears criminals, you are safe as long as you pay your protection money.

[jalansanitwong]

Blame the foreigners again and again. This country has been plundered by rich and powerful Thai families for years and no one does anything. They all live in USA,Europe and i think one lives in Dubai?

Edited April 25, 2013 by jalansanitwong

[OzMick]

"... Corruption within the police force, again, is to blame for the prosperity of foreign gangsters. Good ties with the local police provide protection from the law. Police supervisors should be more serious about this and make sure no foreign criminals go undetected because of collusion on the part of their subordinates."

They could start in Dubai as that criminal has raped and pillaged Thailand more than all these other crooks combined but with his Police protection he continues to ride roughshod over Thailand and its weaknesses.

But he doesn't need to resort to fake passports.

[Pib]

Thailand will grow out of its law enforcement and corruption problems...it will just take a couple more generations.

[Thai at Heart]

Some of these foreign men with criminal backgrounds choose to marry Thai women in order to bypass the law that prevents foreigners from owning property here.

Would someone please send this guy a copy of the Thai law.

Beyond that, it seems that 99.9% of the solutions are down to inactivity on the Thai side, so bemoaning foreigners is a bit rich, when the problem is clearly a domestic one.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[rubl]

Is this part of the drive to influence some agencies to take Thailand of a watchlist?

[Baerboxer]

Transnational crime is an increasing problem, spurned on by globalization and the realisation by criminals that rich pickings are available just the same as any other "business" opportunities. Russian and Chinese gangs can be found all over the place - even in countries that don't supposedly have the corruption and ineffectiveness associated by many with the RTP.

The ability of law enforcement standards varies massively within countries as well as between countries. Inerpol are a communications network and the UN is a joke.

Thailand should indeed be wary of these elements and proactive in dealing with them. However, I hope this doesn't turn into an excuse for introducing draconian measures against all foreigners, including the majortiy who are not crooks.

[JCaligula]

Don't be sensitive...this article is accurate and very true..the clampdown must go on..have you known any of this issues happen else where in ASEAN except Laos and Cambodia which has has the same issue

[Konini]

I'm at a loss to understand what Thaksin has got to do with an article about foreign criminals.