Immigration Police Crackdown Nets Foreign Fugitives

Newly appointed Commander of all Immigration Police, Police Lt. General Wuthi Liptapanlop, has directed the very capable leader Police Colonel Athiwit Kamonrat Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration to use all available resources to catch the wanted fugitives in Pattaya. As the Transnational Crime Data Center is set to open March 16, warrants for more than 2,000 fugitives suspected of hiding out in Thailand and another 1,000 warrants for foreigners issued by Thai courts for crimes committed in Thailand have been delivered to Immigration Police Colonel Athiwit.

Chonburi Immigration Bureau offcers arrested a South Korean man charged with defrauding his fellow countrymen of more than US$ 600,000 (about 20 million baht) after feeing Korea to live in Pattaya for six years. Kim Dong Hyun, 48, who was under a South Korean arrest warrant for fve cases involving fraud and embezzlement, was nabbed at a massage parlor in North Pattaya which was raided for suspicion of selling sexual services. He had been operating the massage parlor for six years before being apprehended.



In another case where the fugitive was only able to hide from the new crackdown for 14 days, Police Lt. General Wut Liptapanlop announced the arrest of Danish citizen Mr. Martin Matthiasen, a 29-year-old tax fugitive wanted by Interpol and Copenhagen police. Mr. Matthiasen snuck into Thailand eluding the Border Patrol and Immigration Checkpoints and stayed at the best hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya, but only avoided capture for two weeks by Thai police. Criminal charges were forwarded to Thai authorities based on information from the Scandinavian Group of Countries asking Thailand police to investigate and arrest Mr. Matthiasen based on an arrest warrant issued by Copenhagen court dated May 12, 2007, and the Red Notice of Interpol.

In cases where arrests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police offcials in Interpol member countries.

The Dane was arrested at the Emporium Hotel, Sukhumvit Soi 24 in Klong Toey District, Bangkok. Martin Matthiasen and eight alleged accomplices are accused of falsifying documents to claim tax refunds worth about 180 million crone, or about 1,100 million baht, from the Danish Central Customs and Tax Administration. The suspect escaped to many countries, before eluding capture by hiding in Thailand.

Seven accomplices were earlier arrested in Denmark. One other accomplice is still being sought by international police.

Mr. Matthiasen fed Denmark to many countries ending his run in Bangkok. He entered Thailand illegally by land from Malaysia through Songkhla Province without notifcation to Thai Immigration. Staying in 5-star hotels until fearing he might be traced through Internet usage and moving on Mr. Matthiasen was arrested within two weeks of arrival into Thailand.

He did not have a passport, so Thai police took him in for investigation before checking his case in Denmark and then deported him for prosecution in Denmark. The continuing crackdown has also resulted in the successful apprehension of Mr. Anai Kenichi, age 41, a Japanese national, the high ranking member of the Katowanggokai Japanese mafa, at a hotel in Silom Soi 7, Bangkok. Mr. Anai is a two-fngered Japanese national suspected of being a Yakuza, or Japanese gang member. The Yakuza, Japan's largest organized crime syndicate, comprises at least three main factions, known as Yamaguchi, Sumiyoshi and Inagawa. Anai was a member of the Sumiyoshi clan.

"Anai Kenichi allegedly killed a member of the Inagawa faction in Japan last July," Commissioner Liptapanlop said.

He is missing the upper halves of three fngers on his left hand. It is a Yakuza custom to chop off a fnger as punishment for transgressions.

Immigration Commissioner Liptapanlop noted that Thailand will open a National Criminal Center to better handle police requests from abroad to track down foreign criminals in the country. A major offce will be opened in Pattaya.

Mr. Anai allegedly fed to Thailand from Japan following the issuance of arrest warrants accusing him of murder and illegal gun possession. Following cooperation between Japanese and Thai authorities, Mr. Anai was successfully apprehended.

Lieutenant General Wut Liptapanlop stated that Lieutenant General Manoon Meakmok of Thailand Immigration Bureau was informed by the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok to capture Mr. Anai, a fugitive from justice, who was suspected of being in Thailand.

Mr. Anai is allegedly the head of Japan’s second largest criminal organization which has more than 6,100 members. Mr. Anai is wanted by Japanese authorities for the July, 2009 murder of Mr. Watanabe Nobuhiro, a rival member of the Inagawa gang and also wanted on charges of unauthorized frearm possession.

After the murder, Mr. Anai stole the identifcation of another man and had a false passport made, thereby changing his name to Mr. Senta Zato in an attempt to avoid arrest and allowing him to leave Japan undetected.

He quickly flew from Tokyo’s Narita Airport on All Nippon airways flight NH 953, to Bangkok on October 9, 2009. The Thailand Immigration Investigators discovered Mr. Anai was hiding in the Silom area of Bangkok and they caught him in a highly populated area at the Diamond Place Hotel on Silom, Soi 7.

Contact with the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok was made in order to get Mr. Anai extradited back to Japan for his murder and illegal frearm possession trial.

Immigration is checking during the time Mr. Anai stayed in Thailand if he was connected to the Yakuza in Thailand, which is known to operate in the Silom area. Additional checks of the people he communicated with and what he was doing in Bangkok are underway at this time.

In a fourth case, the Chonburi Immigration Police led by Police Colonel Athiwit Kamonrat also have arrested Belgian Robert Verdickt a fairly high-profle person who had helped set up the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club in Pattaya, and seemed to be a regular guy trying to do good things. 

However, Police Colonel Athiwit Kamonrat Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration based in the offce formerly known as the Pattaya Immigration Bureau offce on Jomtien Soi 5, and his team raided a house in Classic Village, Moo.13, Nongprue, after reports that the Belgian had fed his own country to avoid facing 14 criminal charges, Police Colonel Athiwit stated.

In a ffth arrest, Chonburi Immigration Police Colonel Athiwit also recently arrested Hungarian Mr. Sarkadi Peter Andras, 55 years old who was charged with embezzling money in his country and moved to hide in Thailand.

Police Colonel Athiwit Kamolrat, Chief of Chonburi Immigration offce, along with Police Lieutenant Colonel Pukkaphong Saioubon, Police Lieutenant Colonel Praphansak Prasarnsuk, and the police investigation team arrested Mr. Sarkadi at his home in SP Village located off Soi Siam Country Club Road.

Mr. Sarkadi entered Thailand around June of last year and following charges for tax evasion in his home country amounting nearly 40 million Baht. The suspect had opened a car showroom in Hungary and failed to pay tax on his stock of vehicles. His visa was canceled and he will not be allowed back in to Thailand. He will be handed over to Hungarian offcials in Bangkok before he is permanently sent back to his home country.