Military official alleged to have demanded THB20m to release triad suspects
The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) is investigating allegations that an official from the Armed Forces Security Centre demanded 20 million baht from 11 Chinese suspects in exchange for letting them go after police searched a house in Bangkok’s Sathorn district on Monday.
The search was a joint operation between the Department of Special Investigation, the Metropolitan Police Bureau, and the Armed Forces Security Centre.
The joint team was acting on a tip-off that the residence was masquerading as the official consulate of Nauru, said RTARF spokesman Lt-General Theeraphong Patthamasingh on Tuesday. Nauru is a small island-nation located northeast of Australia.
Police found several Chinese nationals residing in the house. Among them was a suspect wanted in connection with the police raid on Jinling nightclub in Bangkok’s Yannawa district in October last year. The raid kicked off a police investigation into Chinese triads operating in Thailand that has seen 5.3 billion baht in assets seized from alleged drug kingpin Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant and his associates.
Theeraphong said investigators found evidence that an official participating in Monday’s raid let 11 suspects go after detaining them in exchange for money. Initial investigations revealed that the official is from the Armed Forces Security Centre.
Theeraphong said an investigation committee has been established to look into the incident and will send its findings to the Chief of Defence Forces as soon as possible.
