Thai police officers extort 170,000 USDT from foreign victim

Thai authorities have arrested six police officers and one civilian for using a fake warrant to stage an arrest and extort 165,000 USDT from an expat.

The victim, a Chinese-Vanuatu national, filed a complaint along with his wife and other family members at a Bang Sue police station. They stated that a group of nine men showed up at their house, claiming to be law enforcement. 

Crooked Thai officers used a fake warrant

The accused men presented a fake search warrant written in the Thai language. The victim could not read Thai, but he recognized the government emblem on the document. He allowed the search the emblem looked real and convincing.

The fake police officers translated the warrant using two interpreters and said that a Filipino national accused the victim of a fake passport case that was being handled in court.

The fake officers went on to conduct the search and seized the victim’s electronic devices including mobile phones and one computer.

The first extortion attempt demanded $10 million USDT (300 million Baht) just to drop the case. The officers also threatened to impose further charges for allegedly hiring a foreign housemaid illegally. The victim refused and resisted the demands saying that he was not guilty. He also insisted that he did not have that amount of money. 

To put further pressure on the victim, the officers took him to a government complex building where they negotiated the fake bail down to 296,000 USDT (10 million Baht). The victim eventually agreed to transfer 165,000 USDT (5.5 million Baht). After the completion of the transfer, the crooked officers forced the victims to record a video saying no wrongdoing happened. 

The crime didn’t stop there. One of the officers contacted the victim again via Telegram, demanding an additional 20,895 USDT in exchange for revealing the accuser’s identity. The victim, however, didn’t receive any further information and decided to hire a lawyer to investigate and uncover the fraud.

The Thai Metropolitan Police, along with Cyber Police, conducted an extensive investigation and discovered that the crime and extortion involved 12 individuals. They arrested seven people, and another three cyber officers surrendered.

The suspects denied the charges and were released on bail. Investigators will present their findings 30 days after the complaint was initially submitted.