National —
On January 25th, 2025, National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kittirat Phanphet provided an update on a case involving three officers from the Special Branch Police, border patrol officers, and rangers accused of abducting seven Chinese nationals and demanding a 2-million-baht ransom.
The incident came to light when a Laotian individual reported via social media that a group of Chinese nationals had been detained by eight people claiming to be police officers on January 23rd.
The police withheld the names of the suspects and victims.
The victims were allegedly held in a vehicle and threatened using a translation app to pay 5 million baht, later reduced to 500,000 baht per person.
According to the police, one of the victims secretly contacted a friend in Laos, who alerted relevant authorities. Police located the group at a resort in Phibun Mangsahan District, Ubon Ratchathani, and rescued the hostages.
Pol. Gen. Kittirat ordered a strict disciplinary and criminal investigation into the officers involved, ensuring their immediate dismissal from service. The suspects are now facing legal action but police have faced some criticism for not releasing the names of the officers involved. Police say this is due to the ongoing investigation and not out of a lack of transparency or accountability.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.