Three police officers, attached to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), have been transferred and placed under investigation, after they were accused of conspiring with nine other people, including a Chinese man and his Thai girlfriend, to extort 300 million baht from five Chinese nationals.
Seven other suspects, including six more police officers, have already been arrested by Thung Song Hong police for alleged involvement in the illegal detention of five Chinese nationals and extortion of money from them.
According to a CCIB police report, the victims have already paid 5.7 million baht in ransom to the police gang. After their release, the five victims filed a complaint with Thung Song Hong police.
The victims claim that a group of police officers raided their house in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, on October 17th, and accused them of operating a call centre scam. Four of the victims were held in detention at the CCIB and the fifth was set free to find money in exchange for their freedom and the dropping of all charges against them.
The complaint led to the arrest of seven suspects, including six police officers and one civilian. Three other officers, namely Pol Cpt Thanakrit, “Suphan” and “Kittiphum” later surrendered and were ultimately transferred out of the CCIB. A panel has been set up to investigate their conduct.
Police say that two other suspects, a Chinese man and his Thai girlfriend, remain at large.
