Cops eye tourist centre crime after Samui raid ‘success’
Mafia problems on resort islands worrying police, writes Wassayos Ngamkham
The fast and furious crackdowns on criminal gangs in popular Koh Samui in Surat Thani last week are encouraging police to expand their list of targets to include more tourist destinations nationwide.
They are hoping to see the same success everywhere criminal syndicates are found, said Central Investigation Bureau acting chief Thitirat Nonghanpitak.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat led about 300 police to join military forces for the dawn operation on the resort island on Friday.
A team of 756 security officers, including commando police and soldiers, raided 26 spots believed to be hideouts of powerful people or criminals.
They arrested five suspects and confiscated 20 guns and 835 rounds of ammunition as well as three kilogrammes of kratom, a narcotic plant.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat decided to look into criminal cases on the island after local businessman Panas Kao-uthai, 49, was gunned down in a restaurant early this month, apparently as a result of business conflicts among influential figures.
His death frightened villagers and caused panic on the island, which is Thailand’s top tourist destination.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat was concerned the high level of crime on the island was tarnishing the reputation of the island as a safe destination. Authorities were urged to speed up their probe.
During the operation on Samui, Pol Maj Gen Thitirat’s subordinates from the Crime Suppression Division and officers from the Provincial Police Region 9 also looked for the gunman who killed Panas, who was still at large.
On Friday night, Charoen Sisaeng, the suspected gunman, turned himself in to police for fear of being killed during the operation.
One day before the officers launched the raid, four other suspects in the Panas killing were arrested.
They are Samart Boonsin, who is alleged as a local influential figure; Chanai Sooksom, a former local politician; Chalit Boonsa, a businessman; and Chayut Kaewaram, another suspected gunman.
Clues were obtained from security camera footage, police investigators said. Their hunt for the killers went easily as the cameras caught their likeness while they were escaping.
The investigators soon knew there were two gunmen. They said one of them is Mr Chayut, who was seen entering Mr Samart’s house.
What most attracted the police’s attention were allegations that Mr Samart had been at odds with Panas.
The officers nabbed Mr Chayut while he was about to take a ferry to leave the island.
Police said the Ratchaburi native initially denied involvement in the murder plot, but he later confessed after police backed their accusation with security camera footage.
His confession brought police to identify another alleged gunman, Mr Charoen.
Police believe business conflicts in various projects with Mr Panas led to the murder. The three suspects denied being involved.
The investigation revealed Panas and the suspects who are business operators were arguing over real estate projects and revenues from a trade fair on a pedestrian street in tambon Bo Phut.
Their conflict was so severe they allegedly threatened to kill one another.
The investigators believed the three suspects hired gunmen to kill Mr Panas because they were worried many local businesses would end up in the hands of Mr Panas who had good connections with investors outside the island.
This deadly conflict alerted Pol Maj Gen Thitirat to other mafia problems in Samui, so he ordered a crackdown on criminal activities on Friday. He was also responding to concerns expressed by tourists about the rising crime rate.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat also vowed to “cut the mafia’s cycle” everywhere, particularly tourist destinations in Thailand, where crimes occur in the same way as Samui’s.
The approach involves raids on target areas as well as moving to block financial transactions of mafia suspects.
In the Samui operation, police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division and Technology Crime Suppression Division were also ordered to inspect the suspects’ mobile phones, computers, and business tax information to look for any irregularities.