Police questioned four witnesses last night (Monday), who delivered 28 million baht in cash in four suitcases to police officers implicated in the online gambling extortion controversy at a temple in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai.

According to an informed police source, the four people were captured on CCTV with the four cases.

The source said that the 28 million baht, just a portion of the 140 million baht reportedly extorted by the police gang, was raised by an individual only identified as “Pe”, one of the operators of the illegal online gambling platform, from his associates in a neighbouring country. The money was transferred into several “mule” accounts in Thailand, then withdrawn and sent to Pe to be delivered to the police gang in Chiang Rai by the four couriers.

The four cases were returned to the four couriers and they have been seized by the police for fingerprint examination.

During the interrogation, the four couriers claimed that they did not know that the cash was extortion money, adding that they understood that it was to be used to pay for the purchase of precious Buddha images and amulets.

The whereabouts of the 140 million baht, claimed to have been paid to the police gang by the online gambling network, remain a mystery.

More than 10 police officers, mainly Chon Buri provincial police, including the police commander, Pol Maj-Gen Kampol Leelaprapaporn, have been implicated in the extortion. Eight of them, including Kampol, have been transferred to the operations centre of the Royal Thai Police headquarters pending the outcome of the investigation.

Some of them have already confessed to the extortion, but Kampol has denied all the charges against him, which include malfeasance in office, accepting bribes and extortion.