Fact drugs go through customs, after bribe is paid sold around Bangkok like candy. You got ivory trade endangered animal trade bear gall bladders, tiger skins, and peckers All for Chinese market. Russians and Nigerans useing mules to rat hole drugs through immigration. Police in on most of the action Russian boiler rooms all over Bangkok. You got one Farang who can be seen driveing around on a Harley got police in back pocket He is into credit card fraud, skimming counterfeiting. Protection racket. I'm not blind you hear people speak openly as if it is no big deal about there crimes. Like it is badge of honor. Police won't do a thing because to much money changing hands but if the cops found out they only get a slight fraction of the ill gotten gains heads would roll. I figure for every baht they give the police they make 1000 times more.

Nothing lasts forever and everything is in a constant state of flux. Some day Thailand will evolve out of such corruption, when I have no idea and it will not go away 100%, but one day these people won't be able to do such things. It may take a century but it's inevitable.

Meanwhile, Immigration initiates a "crackdown" affecting mostly harmless, honest, lawful foreigners and creates a climate of uncertainty and confusion. The foreign criminal ratbags continue to operate with impunity, unaffected by border runs, work permits, etc.

Well those dastardly English teachers are of course a major threat to national security,and what about those guides who bring in huge amounts of money for Thailand by offering a service ie speaking Russian,Korean etc that Thais can't do,very fortunately these people are being dealt with too,I guess that Thai people are already so rich that they don't need any more money.But then of course the plan now is to bring in huge amounts of very low budget Chinese tourists who will scare away the few other tourists who are still here,well done Thailand!!!!!!,what excellent planning once again.My 6 year old son has more logic.

When in ROME do as the Romans do.

Thaksin did this. He contacted all these foreign gangs and invited them to Thailand (he even paid for airfare for the Russians because their vodka is very good). Wake up people! Every evil in Thailand is because of Thaksin. Hail Mary, full of glaze....

And no Thai.

Well the way I read it was simple. There are 20 known gangs in Thailand which are run by foreigners. I don't have any issue as a foreigner regarding what has been said. He didn't say ALL foreign visitors or even those that are working or retired here. He stated a fact based on what they know. I would have thought it would be easier to look at that rather than jumping on the race card like most of these posts have.

but the headline which pulled us into the debate was "More than 20 major transnational gangs are plaguing Thailand"

It is not the race card to point out the obvious.. ie the RTP is not fit for the job. Thailand is "plagued" by its own endemic corruption and shortsighted greed. The RTP has been sleepwalking into a situation for several years where overseas criminals are establishing a serious presence. Now it will take a serious effort to control them, and it has never looked like the RTP can cope.

Is transnational a new word?

The number of gangs operating in Thailand...speaks more to the lack of quality police work...especially when you consider the number of police that are likely aiding and abetting and in on the take of the criminal activity...this is STILL Thailand...

And yet we see Africans multiplying on Sukumvit selling coke with their big, fay ugly, women grabbing your arm when you walk by them. No mention of these gangs?

blame the foreigners

so they have no way to detect those gangs by identity, finger printing , face recognition at the airports ?

all out - in visa runners ?

no technology made in thailand for this ? woehahaha ... not thai high tech ...? only farmers, hookers & cheap fake items

This has been true for at least 15 years and only Thai authorities didn't know it ! Thailand has been/ is now/will probably always be,

a criminal's dream as it's law enforcement can only deal with Thai nationals & poorly even with them !

All of you bashing the Thai bribe system should think twice - it's exactly that freedom that in fact makes Thailand such an awesome place to be.

If it was all cleaned up and sterilized, it would be like Singapore and no one would bother coming to Thailand anymore.

Yeah what about the motorbike gangs like the Outlaws in Bangkok? They dont count?

I saw two Hells Angles, riding in Chiang Mai, yesterday. Thailand is basically an easy country for foreign criminals to conduct business. The Thai police have never been accused of being crime fighters.

Really, two men on bikes? That's interesting. I saw hundreds of blokes on motorbikes yesterday in Bangkok.

Seeing two Hells Angles riding in CM, wearing their colors is a little different from seeing hundreds of blokes on motorbikes.

All of you bashing the Thai bribe system should think twice - it's exactly that freedom that in fact makes Thailand such an awesome place to be.

I AM so looking forward to your being on the the rough end of what passes for the 'justice system' here. And that you get royally shafted

Let's do a study on Thai criminal gangs and you can easily add 2 zeroes to that number. But, to keep the peace, lets do it the Argentinian way: blame the foreigners!

Why would so many criminal gangs think Thailand is an easy mark?

Let's do a study on Thai criminal gangs and you can easily add 2 zeroes to that number. But, to keep the peace, lets do it the Argentinian way: blame the foreigners!

is it the farang crimminals that are pissing the Thai's off, or that they do it with a bit of sophistication which most thai criminals lack,

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Yeah what about the motorbike gangs like the Outlaws in Bangkok? They dont count?

I saw two Hells Angles, riding in Chiang Mai, yesterday. Thailand is basically an easy country for foreign criminals to conduct business. The Thai police have never been accused of being crime fighters.

WOW!!!! You saw TWO Hell's Angels riding their big fat Hogs, and I suppose you saw they were up to no good committing some sort of crime? I very much doubt that. Most people I have known to be members of a motorcycle group/gang have been very law abiding people, who usually have legitimate jobs, I very much doubt you would know a criminal even if he was standing right next to you, please stop posting stupid comments that you know nothing about

thailand wants to play with the big boys on the international stage....well ....now lets see how you play the game...sawadee(no crap)

This article could easily be describing London !

Yes, sort of similar, apart from the sad fact that the British government and people are still so frightened of being called racists and calling a spade a spade that they have yet to properly target the foreigners and foreign gangs that are indeed wreaking irreversible damage to a great country. Thailand has a tiny problem with foreigners compared to the UK, and the UK still does next to nothing about the problem. If the UK could only rid itself of the abusive, dishonest, disrespectful dirt that has washed up there for decades now then it would have half a chance of becoming a pleasant place again.

Yeah right whats going on?! Now complaining about to many foreign criminals! My Tip not enough decent people in the country anymore to keep the corrupt pockets full!!! That Airport in Bkk is now a very empty place blame it on the foreigners go on then!!

Let's do a study on Thai criminal gangs and you can easily add 2 zeroes to that number. But, to keep the peace, lets do it the Argentinian way: blame the foreigners!

Uh, of course there are crimes committed by Thais, but is it not important to analyze the amount of crimes committed by foreigners?

Let's do a study on Thai criminal gangs and you can easily add 2 zeroes to that number. But, to keep the peace, lets do it the Argentinian way: blame the foreigners!

is it the farang crimminals that are pissing the Thai's off, or that they do it with a bit of sophistication which most thai criminals lack,

So what you are saying is, Whitey/farang criminals are still better because they are more "sophisticated"?

Facepalm...

Again another face covering exercise. The only reason these gangs flourish here is because they pay the authorities to look the other way.

When the police from the lowest to the highest levels are openly corrupt, when judges are openly corrupt, it is an grand invitation for criminals.

Thailand, get your house in order and the foreign criminals will leave.

Let's do a study on Thai criminal gangs and you can easily add 2 zeroes to that number. But, to keep the peace, lets do it the Argentinian way: blame the foreigners!

No let's keep doing it the Thai Visa way and blame everything that happens in or out of Thailand on Thais.

It's seems that some of these topics are posted solely to rattle the cages of those who see everything in terms of US versus THEM. I'm sure there have been no end of studies about domestic crime and I assume you got your knickers in a knot because those didn't target foreign criminals as well.

Seriously, the petulant, childish reaction to every thread is beyond wearing thin. It makes any serious discussion of any topic impossible. It's just one opportunity after another to mindlessly bash Thais and Thailand by bored xenophobes who have never been this far from home before in their lives and are feeling anxious and cranky.

You've made your point. There are no foreign criminals in Thailand. There are no criminals anywhere in the world but Thailand.

Now get off the floor and eat your vegetables.

You can't fault the article for what it didn't say. If it was an article about making pizza, would you fault it for not mentioning bread-making?

Yeah what about the motorbike gangs like the Outlaws in Bangkok? They dont count?

I saw two Hells Angles, riding in Chiang Mai, yesterday. Thailand is basically an easy country for foreign criminals to conduct business. The Thai police have never been accused of being crime fighters.

WOW!!!! You saw TWO Hell's Angels riding their big fat Hogs, and I suppose you saw they were up to no good committing some sort of crime? I very much doubt that. Most people I have known to be members of a motorcycle group/gang have been very law abiding people, who usually have legitimate jobs, I very much doubt you would know a criminal even if he was standing right next to you, please stop posting stupid comments that you know nothing about

The Hells Angels are an international criminal organisation who are light years ahead of other outlaw motorcycle gangs, lol. Stupid comments??? I think not.

Piyanut Tamnukasetchai, Ive seen children write better articles.

...Criminals attract criminals....seems "Thainess-like"...