Immigration to nab criminals hiding in Pattaya...

[PeteC]

This program is taking off big now now under the direction of a new man in Bangkok. I think we are going to see some interesting stories in months to come. Note the link within the below story for an additional story. Pete

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... desirables

[Super Joe]

This program is taking off big now now under the direction of a new man in Bangkok.

Indeed, quote from the article: "Bureau commissioner Wuthi Liptapallop said Thailand was known worldwide as a haven for criminals. I don't want Thailand to be known as a place where foreign criminals hide and conduct illegal activities"

And judging by his name it suggests he will be relying heavily upon the use of electronic data, as he seems to be on his laptop a lot.

SJ

[PeteC]

I think he may suffer from a lisp though. Pete

[BaaBaa.]

I think he may suffer from a lisp though. Pete

[Nereus]

Good luck to him. But why does he not start on his own doorstep?
The Bangkok Post has run recent articles about the foreign criminals operating in the Sukhumvit Soi 4 area. Open drug dealing, exploitation of foreign (mostly eastern block countries), prostitutes, etc.
And if the reports are to be believed, these criminal types are plainly obvious by their skin colour.

Or is the lack of action the same old reason? That is that the police that should be enforcing the law, are on the take like in the rest of the country. How many times have we seen a "new broom" come along proclaiming that they are going to do this or that, only to fade away after a few photos are published, and they presumably find their "sponsors"?

[hhfarang]

Maybe they're serious this time. I say good on 'em. Get the riff-raff out of here!

Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt. General Wuthi Liptapallop to Spearhead Hunt for Foreign Criminals in Thailand

In an exclusive interview with the Pattaya Times newspaper a US Marshal based at the US Embassy in Bangkok, he reported, “When we are looking to issue a criminal warrant for crime committed in the US and we know the suspect fled. First we look in Las Vegas. The we look in Bangkok and Pattaya Thailand. These are the easiest places to hide.”

The Pattaya Times attended a special conference in Pattaya where Thailand Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt. General Wuthi Liptapallop agreed Thailand is known worldwide as a safe haven for criminals because of its relatively easy-going visa policies and the large number of foreigners here and was doing something to stop this and catch the foreign criminals.

Police Lt. General Wuthi, who also heads the Transnational Crime Coordination Unit within the bureau, said his unit has been given the identifications of the ''Most Wanted'' people sought by the US's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and INTERPOL.

When the NSB receives information about foreign drug traffickers, we would like to receive the same information here. We want to be linked to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Interpol and to other foreign law enforcement organizations, he said.

At a special conference held at a Jomtien Hotel on Soi 12 on Friday and Saturday Police Lt. General Wuthi spoke in English to representatives of foreign embassies and police organizations stationed in Bangkok.

As proof of this new direction Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop directed the embassy and foreign police officials gathered at the conference to news articles of Korean, Japanese and Danish fugitives caught by Thailand Immigration in English

as reported in the local Pattaya Times newspaper as evidinece of the success of his force.

He pointed out three cases-in-point of the high profile criminals his immigration police have caught and referred foreign representatives to the articles published in the Pattaya Times and on the internet:

http://pattaya-times.com/a5078-thailand ... n-fugitive

http://pattaya-times.com/a5087-fugitive ... in-bangkok

http://pattaya-times.com/a5086-japanese ... n-thailand

We will not stand for letting foreign gangs operate in Thailand or criminals to live freely here. This is a tourist destination attracting millions of visitors worldwide. Thailand is safe. The National Criminal Centre will use the databases we have on foreign arrivals and departures at immigration checkpoints along with hotel reports of guests and 90-day reporting of foreigners here on long stay visas to catch the small percentage of foreigners who commit crimes.

Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop said, We will try to classify the various warrants and arrangewarrants into categories depending on the severity of the crimes. Some foreigners are wanted for human trafficking, robbery, terrorism, drugs, murder, kidnapping, rape and other serious charges, while some are wanted for lesser charges.

The new National Criminal Center office will work with INTERPOL, US, Scandinavian, EU countries, Great Britain and Australia, as well as Asian countries to catch fugitives on the run and hiding in Thailand as is necessary to also coordinate between local law enforcement agencies in Thailand working on rooting out transnational crime in Thailand

A branch office will open in a few days at the Chonburi Immigration headquarters on Jomtien Soi 5 led by Police Colonel Athiwit Kamolrat.

The main office will open in March under the command of Police Lt. General “Wut” Liptaphanlop at the Soi Suan Phlu Immigration office which used to be the main Immigration Bureau office until relocated to a new building on Chiang Wantana where Thai visas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also located.

Both offices will handle police requests from abroad and INTEROL Red Notices to track down foreign criminals who may be in Thailand.

The crackdown will target more than 2,000 foreign nationals who have outstanding international arrest warrants against them and a list of about 1,000 foreign nationals with arrest warrants issued by Thai courts who have committed crimes while in Thailand.

Pol Lt Gen Wuthi, who served as commissioner of the Narcotic Suppression Bureau (NSB), deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and commander of the Tourist Police (TP), took over as immigration chief in November when there was a reshuffling of many major postings of Thai government public servants and governors.

source: pattaya-times.com

[PeteC]

This is all well and good but I don't think a smart felon is going to do 90 reports, and he would stay as far away from hotels and tourist areas as possible. I would guess that at least half of the 3,000 quoted have gone to ground up-country somewhere. Not to mention if the real bad guys would travel here on a legitimate passport or a fake with another name? Pete

[Khundon1975]

Good luck to Lt Gen Wuthi but I won't be holding my breath. The problem of "foreign criminals" in Thailand goes too deep and vested interests, will be his main problem.

I will give him a year, then look at his results.