Danish Cops Track Bandidos Motorcyle Club Member

Danish cops track Bandidos motorcyle club member

BANGKOK: -- The head of a Danish police intelligence agency on Monday met with the deputy head of Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to seek information on an suspected Danish tax evader in Thai police custody for allegedly encroaching a forest reserve on Samui Island.

Pol. Col. Thawee Sodsong, deputy head of DSI, told reporters after meeting with Troels Orting Jorgensen that Danish authorities wanted to exchange information with Thai police on Kim Lingard Neilson, an alleged member of the Bandidos motorcycle club who is in jail in Thailand, detained for several charges including alleged extortion.

The senior Thai police officer said Denmark's office of revenue identified the suspect as unemployed and surviving on social security.

But his arrest has prompted Danish authorities to look into his finances and the properties he is said to own in Thailand.

''They want to track sources of the suspect's income as he has concealed his wealth from his government back home,'' the Thai police official said.

Pol. Col. Thawee said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has confirmed that the suspect's house in Samui was built on official forest land and was not eligible for a land ownership deed. He said police would search all properties in every hill on the island to find out whether the lands were legally occupied.

Meanwhile, Jorgensen said his government wanted to determine the source of the suspect's wealth in Thailand.

He said the suspect would face investigations over his income tax at home where he has been identified as a low-income earner.

He said even though the Bandidos motorcycle club was legally established, some of its members have committed crimes and they chose to operate in Thailand because of an easy environment for their criminal activity.

--TNA 2006-08-01