Thailand has long been a haven for foreign criminals, a convenient base to plot and commit crimes or just to hide out.
Thai law enforcers have fought back, joining with their counterparts overseas to arrest a string of notorious terrorists, criminals and gangsters on our soil.
The list runs from “Bali Bomber” Hambali, al-Qaeda’s chief in Southeast Asia, to Mozambican Momade Assif Abdul Satar, Interpol’s prime suspect for more than 50 kidnappings and murders, to infamous Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keopimpha. The latest big fish netted on Thai soil is Alexandre Cazes, founder of the “darknet” marketplace AlphaBay.
The size of the haul is impressive, but it attests to huge holes in our perimeter security. Thailand’s borders are notoriously porous. Criminals travelling on fake passports ease through Immigration with the help of well-placed bribes. Others bypass checkpoints altogether and sneak in unnoticed via jungle or sea.
Once inside, evading the attentions of police is much easier, making efforts to bring them to justice difficult or near impossible.
The challenge for police has become trickier still with the advent of untraceable cryptocurrency, which is oiling international crime.
At a recent Bangkok seminar on Internet criminality, government agencies pleaded for new legislation to fight a growing wave of cybercrime that, they said, is about to skyrocket.
An early warning came with the arrest of Cazes, aka DeSnake, in Bangkok last year.
AlphaBay and the FBI
The Canadian was the focus of an FBI investigation, accused of co-founding and running AlphaBay, a darknet hub for drug trafficking and money laundering. The website sold class A drugs, illegal pornography, stolen credit cards and weapons of war.
AlphaBay was shut down on July last year after two years in operation, and transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies worth more $1 billion. Cazes had left no paper-money trail for the police to follow or identify him.
The FBI lavished huge resources and manpower to flush out the 26-year-old fugitive but came up empty-handed. Finally, after several years of investigations, he was tracked to Thailand. The Feds then asked for help from the Thai police.
Initially, the FBI lacked evidence to secure an arrest warrant, explained Pol Colonel Pisal Erb-Arb, deputy commander of Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), who took part in the joint operation.
Thai police did some digging and discovered Cazes was married to a Thai woman and enjoying and a life of luxury unsupprted by any visible business concerns.
Police found he had paid cash for an Bt80-million home at the Private House estate in Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana District and also owned a Phuket villa worth Bt200 million. Parked in the driveway were a gleaming set of luxury cars. None of the property was in his own name.
Thailand has long been a haven for foreign criminals, a convenient base to plot and commit crimes or just to hide out.
Thai law enforcers have fought back, joining with their counterparts overseas to arrest a string of notorious terrorists, criminals and gangsters on our soil.
The list runs from “Bali Bomber” Hambali, al-Qaeda’s chief in Southeast Asia, to Mozambican Momade Assif Abdul Satar, Interpol’s prime suspect for more than 50 kidnappings and murders, to infamous Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keopimpha. The latest big fish netted on Thai soil is Alexandre Cazes, founder of the “darknet” marketplace AlphaBay.
The size of the haul is impressive, but it attests to huge holes in our perimeter security. Thailand’s borders are notoriously porous. Criminals travelling on fake passports ease through Immigration with the help of well-placed bribes. Others bypass checkpoints altogether and sneak in unnoticed via jungle or sea.
Once inside, evading the attentions of police is much easier, making efforts to bring them to justice difficult or near impossible.
The challenge for police has become trickier still with the advent of untraceable cryptocurrency, which is oiling international crime.
At a recent Bangkok seminar on Internet criminality, government agencies pleaded for new legislation to fight a growing wave of cybercrime that, they said, is about to skyrocket.
An early warning came with the arrest of Cazes, aka DeSnake, in Bangkok last year.
AlphaBay and the FBI
The Canadian was the focus of an FBI investigation, accused of co-founding and running AlphaBay, a darknet hub for drug trafficking and money laundering. The website sold class A drugs, illegal pornography, stolen credit cards and weapons of war.
AlphaBay was shut down on July last year after two years in operation, and transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies worth more $1 billion. Cazes had left no paper-money trail for the police to follow or identify him.
The FBI lavished huge resources and manpower to flush out the 26-year-old fugitive but came up empty-handed. Finally, after several years of investigations, he was tracked to Thailand. The Feds then asked for help from the Thai police.
Initially, the FBI lacked evidence to secure an arrest warrant, explained Pol Colonel Pisal Erb-Arb, deputy commander of Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), who took part in the joint operation.
Thai police did some digging and discovered Cazes was married to a Thai woman and enjoying and a life of luxury unsupprted by any visible business concerns.
Police found he had paid cash for an Bt80-million home at the Private House estate in Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana District and also owned a Phuket villa worth Bt200 million. Parked in the driveway were a gleaming set of luxury cars. None of the property was in his own name.
LINK TO ARTICLE: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Startup_and_IT/30354431