Crime

Australia’s Interpol Alerted Thailand to Arrival of Refugee Bahrain Football Player

BANGKOK – Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has confirmed it was the Australian bureau of Interpol that alerted Thailand to the arrival of Hakeem Al-Araibi but has not explained how an Interpol red notice came to be issued against the refugee in the first place.

The timeline of Al-Araibi’s travel, Bahrain’s actions and the subsequent arrest have raised questions about potential communication breakdowns or failures between Interpol and Australian authorities leading to a red notice against the refugee. It has also raised questions about how Bahrain was told of Al-Araibi’s travel plans.

Al-Araibi, a Bahraini refugee who lives in Australia as a permanent resident, was arrested on arrival at Bangkok on the evening of 27 November, on the basis of a red notice issued for an alleged act of vandalism, which Al-Araibi maintains he did not commit and occurred while he was playing in a televised football match.

Thai immigration authorities initially intended to return Al-Araibi to Australia in the days after, documents obtained and translated by Guardian Australia show. But they later assented to hear and process Bahrain’s extradition request.

The 25-year-old professional football player has been detained in Thailand for more than two weeks, as Thai courts process the application from Bahrain. Australia has opposed the extradition and demanded his return to Australia.

Al-Araibi had applied for a tourist visa through Thailand’s Melbourne consulate and provided further documentation, including flight details, on 4 November. On 8 November, he was told his visa was ready for collection.

That same day Bahrain was granted a red notice from Interpol for his arrest.

Thai immigration said last week, and Australia’s Department of Home Affairs confirmed on Wednesday, that Interpol’s Australian National Central Bureau alerted Thailand that an individual with a red notice against him was scheduled to depart Australia. This is understood to be a largely automatic process.

The national central bureau is staffed by Australian federal police officers who work to Interpol guidelines and processes, and have access to Interpol’s databases.

It is understood that the Interpol system means Thailand would have become aware of the red notice when Al-Araibi came through customs and immigration in Bangkok, even if not already been alerted.

“Any action taken in response to the Interpol red notice is a matter for Thai authorities,” the home affairs spokesman said, also on behalf of the AFP.

Countries differ, but Australia does not arrest people on the basis of a red notice.

Detention of a subject in Australia would require a formal extradition request from the issuing country’s equivalent of an attorney general, which would then go to the Australian government, and would be need approval by a magistrate for an extradition hearing to proceed.

In instances of requesting a red notice, assessments of legitimacy are made by Interpol’s central organisation, not its national bureaus, and the nation hosting the the subject would not necessarily be consulted, Guardian Australia understands.

It remains unclear what checks are done to ensure the red notice does not breach Interpol’s own regulations, and Interpol has consistently declined to answer questions.

Guardian Australia can reveal Australian consulate officials wrote to the head of Thai immigration insisting that Al-Araibi was an Australian resident and should be returned to Australia.

According to Thai documents, there was apparent confusion about the legitimacy of Al-Araibi’s travel documents – a special document issued to refugees who do not have citizenship yet – but that Thailand intended to act in favor of Australia’s request. However, the red notice was also raised as a factor in deciding on next steps.

By the time the Interpol red notice was lifted, Thai authorities were claiming it did not matter because they had an arrest and extradition request from Bahrain.

On Wednesday a Thai court extended Al-Araibi’s detention by 60 days, in order to continue processing Bahrain’s extradition request.

Al-Araibi fled Bahrain after he and other athletes were allegedly beaten and tortured over their or their families’ involvement in political protests, and was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2014.

He arrived in Australia in 2014, claiming asylum, and was granted refugee status in 2017. Al-Araibi does not yet have citizenship, which would give Australia greater powers of assistance.

This year he decided to go to Thailand on holidays with his wife – his first international trip since arriving in Australia.

Supporters have continued to lobby governments and world football organisations, including Fifa and AFC. Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a member of Bahrain’s royal family, and the subject of public criticism by Al-Araibi in 2016, is a vice-president of Fifa and the president of AFC.

In response to a letter from Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, calling for public support of Al-Araibi, AFC said only that it was monitoring the case.

A spokesman for ADHRB, Husain Abdulla, described the response as “lukewarm” and “disturbing”, in the context of Fifa and FFA’s statements.

“As a vice-president of Fifa, Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa must speak out in support of Hakeem,” Abdulla said. “As the president of the AFC, Sheikh Salman must uphold the confederation’s mission of ensuring the highest ethical standards. He must do the right thing and use his considerable influence to ensure that Hakeem is allowed to return home.”

By Helen Davidson
The Guardian

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.