Bangkok Street Crime

Ms Sandiford to be executed for drug trafficking.

2013-01-22T10:22:00.001+00:00

Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May last year after she tried to enter the Indonesian holiday island with illegal drugs worth £1.6 million hidden in her suitcase.

Local prosecutors had called for the 56-year-old housewife to be jailed for 15 years. But today there were gasps in the Bali courtroom when a panel of judges announced Ms Sandiford would be executed for drug trafficking.

As the shock verdict was announced, Ms Sandiford, from Gloucestershire, slumped back in her chair in tears before hiding her face with a brown sarong as she was led out of the courtroom.

yellow jacket stun gun case for iphone

2012-08-04T10:55:00.001+00:00

yellow jacket is a case that transforms the iPhone 4 & 4S into that 650,000-volt stun gun you've always needed.

scheduled to hit the US market in fall 2012 the case is advertised as being able to
easily stop an aggressive male attacker, and ready for use in less than two seconds.
its designer seth froom, a former military policeman came up with the product after
being robbed in his home at gunpoint.

what is the demand for such a hostile product you might ask? well, yellow jacket
has managed to receive over 100,000 USD worth of backing on the crowd-funding
website indiegogo which means that there must be quite a few people out there
who feel the need to transform their phone into a weapon.

detail of the stun gun nodes

the iPhone's designers could never have conceived half of the the weird and wonderful accessories
that have been designed for use with the iPhone since its launch, but even in the name of self defense
a stun gun seems a bit much, doesn't it?

Wanted gunman shot dead by police

2012-07-17T13:19:00.001+01:00

man wanted under three separate warrants for murder was shot dead in a fight with police near the Mor Chit bus terminal on Kamphaeng Phet 2 road in Chatuchak district of Bangkok early Wednesday. He was identified as Sakrapop Klaiklueng, 44, of village group No 1 in tambon Nonng Sala of Cha-am district in Phetchaburi province. Sakrapop was wanted under three warrants issued by the Criminal Court on July 6, Phetchaburi Court on July 6, and Ratchaburi Court on July 8 this year, all for separate murders. Metropolitan police led by Pol Lt-Col Kanapat Pahumanto and Pol Lt-Col Somsak Boonraksa, both of the Metropolitan Police Division 2, planned to arrest Sakrapop this morning. They had information that the suspect would turn up at Mor Chit to take a bus. Police lay in wait in the area for Sakrapop's arrival. According to Pol Lt-Col Kanapat, when the suspect arrived in a taxi along Kamphaeng Phet 6 road the police stopped the vehicle to arrest the man. Sakrapop ran away and opened fire at the police with a handgun. An exchange of shots followed. Sakrapop was hit twice in the chest and killed. Police recovered a .38 revolver from which four shots were fired. Pol Lt-Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, the Metropolitan Police chief, said Sakrapop was believed to have also shot and wounded Adisorn Srisuk, 29, a lottery agent, and two other people at Tawanna Housing Estate in Chatuchak district on June 22. Those attacked were believed to be involved in the drug trade and Sakrapop was the gunman hired to get rid of them, Pol Lt-Gen Kamronwit said.

Iranian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday for allegedly smuggling about four kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine

2012-07-17T13:17:00.001+01:00

Iranian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday for allegedly smuggling about four kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, into Thailand, Customs Department director general Somchai Poolsavasdi said.

Photos by Somchai Poomlard

Mr Somchai said 34-year-old Racho Boroman travelled from Teheran to the United Arab Emirates before arriving in Thailand with 3,980 grammes of the drug hidden in plastic bags in his luggage.

The Iranian told investigators that he had lived in Thailand for more than three years and had opened a coffee shop in Bangkok's Pratunam area.

Mr Boroman said he was hired by a "Thai Buddhist" to smuggle illegal drugs from Iran and was paid 300,000 baht for each trip.

The customs chief said the suspect had travelled in and out of Thailand eight times. He might also have been involved in the smuggling of crystal meth on May 22, 2012, he said.

In May, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau arrested three Iranians in possession of ice and cash worth of over 15 million baht in total.

Meanwhile, authorities at Suvarnabhumi Airport seized 2,777 methamphetamine pills, or yaba, worth about one million baht on the street. They were discovered at the airport's mail centre.

Police have smashed a local flesh trade racket supplying Thai women to Yakuza gangsters for forced prostitution in Japan

2012-07-17T13:15:00.001+01:00

Police have smashed a local flesh trade racket supplying Thai women to Yakuza gangsters for forced prostitution in Japan, acting with the help of Japanese police.

The May 10 arrest of Jakraphan Watcharapin on charges of luring several women into prostitution came slightly less than a year after Japanese police raided a karaoke bar in a city in Nagano prefecture, rescuing three Thai women.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTD) said the July 8 raid last year on the bar in Matsumoto resulted in the arrest of several suspects.

Those arrested include Yakuza gang members, as well as a Thai woman who allegedly ran the bar as a front for a brothel. The woman, Orachorn Hayashi, was charged with forcing three Thai women, aged between 31 and 32, to provide sex services to her clients.

Ex-US cops help: How to make an arrest

The women who were rescued from the bar were later sent home to Thailand. They then helped provide the AHTD with information about how the gang in Japan was linked with another gang operating in Thailand.

AHTD chief Chawalit Sawaengphuech said Mr Jakraphan and four other suspects had organised a trip for Thai women to go to Japan, where Ms Orachorn picked them up at the airport and took them to her bar.

The AHTD also found out later that Ms Orachorn was actually Mr Jakraphan's wife, but that her husband had arranged for her to register a marriage with Yoshio Hatashi, a Yakuza gang member, so she could establish the karaoke bar in Japan.

"I wanted the investigation into this case to be a perfect example of cracking down on human trafficking gangs," Pol Lt Gen Chawalit said.

"Some of our investigators travelled to Japan to set up a joint effort with the Japanese police."

Pol Lt Gen Chawalit was one of the AHTD investigators who travelled to Japan for the case.

The AHTD investigators brought home a wealth of evidence which helped the secondary probe into the human trafficking gang in Thailand, he said.

Japanese police were initially not convinced Mr Hatashi was involved in this human trafficking case.

However, AHTD police had sufficient evidence to seek the arrest of the Japanese man in connection with the gang, Pol Lt Gen Chawalit said.

Police said Mr Jakraphan tricked women into believing he would secure them jobs waiting on tables at a restaurant in Japan, promising them a salary of about 30,000 baht a month for the job.

But before they could go to Japan to pursue their employment there, those women were made to pay between 70,000 to 2.5 million baht, which Mr Jakraphan said was the cost of the trip and the restaurant job placement service, according to police.

"The suspect [Mr Jakraphan] would tell his potential victims that they could repay their debts later when working in Japan," Pol Lt Gen Chawalit said.

"Yet in reality, their passports were taken away and they were forced to sleep with customers immediately after landing in Japan."

The victims were told the lives of their families in Thailand would be in grave danger if they tried to run away.

The three women were forced to sell sex in Japan for more than three months before they were rescued from the karaoke shop.

Without the Japanese police raid, the women could have been taken on a flesh trade tour to other cities of Japan, which was how the Yakuza gang usually operated, Pol Lt Gen Chawalit said.

The AHTD is now considering seeking arrest warrants against three more Thai suspects as well as two other suspects who are in Japan.

One Japanese suspect is Mr Hatashi and the other suspect is a Japanese woman who is also a Yakuza gang member, Pol Lt Gen Chawalit said.

Although Thailand and Japan do not have a formal treaty on deporting criminal suspects to and from the two countries, they do have good informal cooperation in this regard, he said.

"As the investigation into this case is intended to be a case study, we are aiming to uproot the entire human trafficking racket with the help of Japan," he said.

The suspects will face money laundering charges in addition to the human trafficking charges, he said.

Eight drug traffickers were killed in a border shootout with soldiers and police early Monday morning

2012-07-17T13:13:00.001+01:00

Eight drug traffickers were killed in a border shootout with soldiers and police early Monday morning, the 3rd Army Pha Muang Task Force commander, Somsak Nilbanjerdkul, said.

Maj Gen Somsak said his force received a report that a group of armed men were smuggling illegal drugs from a "neighbouring country" into the northern border province.

A team of more than 50 soldiers and police was assembled to patrol the forest areas in tambon Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, he said.

At about 5.30am, the team spotted about a dozen people, all carrying weapons, walking in line through the forest.

They surrounded them, but they refused to be searched and a fight then broke out. The shooting lasted about 15 minutes.

The team waited until daylight to search the scene, fearing they might be attacked if they moved forward in the dark.

At about 8.30am police reinforcements, led by national police chief Priewpan Damapong, arrived to inspect the area.

They found eight bodies and nine bags containing 550,000 methamphetamine pills, or yaba, and 70 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, worth more than 500 million baht in total. The crystal meth was hidden in teabags.

They also found three AKA rifles, one 9mm handgun and a .22 pistol.

Trails of blood were also discovered at the scene, leading to the neighbouring country.

The security forces suffered no casualties, Maj Gen Somsak said.

Photos by Teerawat Kamtida

The number of Britons arrested overseas is on the rise, official figures have shown.

2012-07-01T14:43:00.001+01:00

The Foreign Office (FO) handled 6,015 arrest cases involving British nationals abroad between April 2011 and March 2012. This was 6% more than in the previous 12 months and included a 2% rise in drug arrests. The figures, which include holidaymakers and Britons resident overseas, showed the highest number of arrests and detentions was in Spain (1,909) followed by the USA (1,305). Spanish arrests rose 9% in 2011/12, while the United States was up 3%. The most arrests of Britons for drugs was in the US (147), followed by Spain (141). The highest percentage of arrests for drugs in 2011/12 was in Peru where there were only 17 arrests in total, although 15 were for drugs. The FO said anecdotal evidence from embassies and consulates overseas suggested many incidents were alcohol-fuelled, particularly in popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, the Balearics (which include Majorca and Ibiza), Malta and Cyprus. Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "It is important that people understand that taking risks abroad can land them on the wrong side of the law. "The punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK. While we will work hard to try and ensure the safety of British nationals abroad, we cannot interfere in another country's legal system. "We find that many people are shocked to discover that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cannot get them out of jail. We always provide consular support to British nationals in difficulty overseas. However, having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison."

A Briton Arrested For Illegal Online Football Gambling

2012-06-21T06:51:00.001+01:00

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) arrested a British citizen and his Thai wife both charged with illegal football gambling.

PATTAYA – June 18, 2012 [PDN]; Pol. Lt. Col. Kwanpichai Manocharoensap and his law enforcement team arrested Mr. Anthony James Macnolly aged 57, British citizen and Mrs. Thitima Kaewheaung aged 29, address: 470 Moo 6 Nongharn, Udornthani province.

The couple was arrested at Maggie Mays restaurant at 12 Wat Boonsamphan road, Banglamung, Pattaya.

The police had had detected that illegal online Euro 2012 football gambling was taking place at the restaurant.

The arrest was made after the police sent an undercover agent to the restaurant. The “spy” arrived and found the the online gambling was in full swing. An arrest was made moments later.

The evidence found at the crime scene was 2,000 THB changing hands in during the match between Portugal and Holland at 01:45 June 18, 2012 in price of 2,000 THB. The seized the evidence.

After iterrrogating Mr. Anthony James Macnolly he confessed that he had opened the restaurant and had hosted online football gambling for foreign customers for more than 10 years.

The police detained the couple and who are charged with illegal online football gambling. Both of them will be investigated and prosecuted according to the law.

Aussie Woman Jailed For False Rape Report

2012-06-21T06:50:00.001+01:00

A 21-years-old Australian woman, Stevie Rochelle who told Phuket police that she had been raped by three Patong tuk-tuk drivers confessed that she had made up the entire story.

The police became suspicious and inspected the CCTV footage which showed the woman leaving the area on a motor bike taxi at about 03:00 hours.

Later the Ms. Banmford confessed that she told a lie because she had a quarrelled with her boy friend after the dispute she rushed off to an entertainment center in Soi Bangla. Got drunk and made up the story.

The judge to initially sentenced her to imprisonment for one month before reducing the punishment to be 15 days in jail and thereafter immediate deportation from the Kingdom.

Pattaya Two Fake Cops & Women Trick Briton and Thai Wife

2012-06-21T06:48:00.001+01:00

A British man reported to the police that he was tricked by two fake cops and a Thai woman who stole 12,000 THB

PATTAYA – June 16, 2012 [PDN]; Miss Prakay Janpo 40 years-old and Mr Mr.Paul Denaam 59 years-old reported to Pol.Capt. Chaleaw Boonkum, that they had been tricked by two men saying that they were police officers, the fake cops took 12,000 THB, a mobile phone and Mister Denaam’s passport before disappearing.

The incident happened at Diana Dragon hotel in Soi Bua Khao, Pattaya. Mrs. Prakai said that she and her British husband had been together for a month.

That very morning they were drunk and they had quarrelled. The British husband said he wanted to break up with her.

In the morning of June 16, they were fighting again and telling each other off. Suddenly a Thai woman aged about 30 appeared and wanted to help the couple.

The Thai women convinced Mr.Paul Denaam to bring her to their room.

When they reached to the hotel counter. The two women started arguing. The security guard intervened and said that they would call the police.

Later, two “police officers” arrived, one of them was stocky and was carrying a wakie-takie, the other police was medium size.

The medium sized man kept an eye on Mrs. Prakai while the stocky one and the woman went into a room.

Later, Mrs. Prakai’s husband followed the fake police officer and the Thai woman.

The British husband came back and asked Mrs.Prakai for money. She gave the fake police officers and the Thai women 12,000 THB.

Moments later the two went into their room and found their mobile phone and her husband’s passport was missing.

The real police officers questioned the victims and checked the CCTV footage and found out that the stocky man is Mr. Wattanahai Srikamnoi, or “Ong” aged 22, living at house # 313/102. Moo 10 Banglamoong. Profession : civil defence volunteer.

The police will interrogate Mr. “Ong” whether he is involved in the case or not.

The other fake police officer and the mysterious woman is still at large.

Mysterious Death of Canadian Sisters Poisonous Mushroom Suspected

2012-06-21T06:47:00.001+01:00

The two Canadians Miss Noemi Balenger, 26, and her sister, Miss Audrey, 20, we're found dead in their room on Phi Phi Palm Resident on Phi Phi island on June 15. The case is under investigation. Next post mortem examination in Bangkok.

KRABI – June 17, 2012 [PDN]; Pol.Maj.Gen.Jamroon Ruenrom- commissioner of Krabi police conducted a forensic investigation of room #103. The police did not find any trace of violence but found several pills in the room. Including Ibuprofen an anti-inflammatory drug which should be taken with precaution and should not be mixed with alcohol.

Pol.Maj.Gen.Jamroon could not conclude the cause of their death, they have to wait for the autopsy at the Royal Thai Police hospital in Bangkok.

There are many pubs that serves a popular cocktail which is made from mushrooms. A tourist said that there were special mushrooms on the menu on Pangan island and Samui island and and also on Phi Phi island. Local name is “Khee Kwai ” or magic mushroom, which is popular among tourists. When consumed, this kind of mushroom will cause heavy intoxication.

Main suspect in 2008 Pattaya murder case arrested by Police

2012-06-21T06:45:00.001+01:00

The ringleader of a gang suspected of murdering a well known car care shop owner, four years ago has been arrested by Region 2 Police. Khun Tanoo aged 40 was the 4th most wanted man in the Eastern Seaboard following the murder which took place in the Kow Mai Geaw area on 30th October 2008. The car care owner, Khun Jai was a high profile member of the Pattaya community with strong ties to local and Provincial government. Khun Tanoo was arrested at a Temple in Prajuab Kirikan Province in the South of Thailand where he was recently ordained as a Monk. According to Police Lieutenant General Panya, the Region 2 Police Commissioner, two other members of the gang had been arrested previously but Khun Tanoo had organized the shooting of Khun Jai. An M16 Assault Rifle was used by the gang. Khun Tanoo has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

THREE Australian women have told of hearing "horrible" screams as a mum from Perth was knifed and killed in the street outside a Phuket resort.

2012-06-21T06:41:00.001+01:00

The woman stabbed-to-death in Phuket has been identified as Perth mum Michelle Smith. Picture: FacebookSource: Supplied

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Australian killed in Phuket

Alan Morison, Phuketwan tourism news editor tells details of an Australian woman that was murdered in the Thai resort city of Phuket overni...

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Phuket stabbing tragedy

An Australian woman has died after being stabbed in a botched bag snatch outside a five-star hotel on Phuket, Thailand

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Mrs Smith was attacked by bag snatchers on her way back from dinner. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

UPDATE: THREE Australian women have told of hearing "horrible" screams as a mum from Perth was knifed and killed in the street outside a Phuket resort.

The women, all from Sydney, spoke in shock of hearing the savage attempt at a bag snatch that went horribly wrong.

Police all over Phuket were today hunting the two young men who murdered the travel agent Michelle Smith, 60, for nothing and wounded her companion, Tammee Lynn, 42, with a gash to the arm.

Ms Smith - who held on to her bag - died outside her hotel after suffering a 10cm knife wound to the heart. Two men sped off on a motorcycle about 10.30pm local time (1.30am AEST).

Perth's RAC has confirmed Ms Smith was an employee of its travel and touring division.

Ms Lynn is understood to be an employee of a travel agency in the southern suburb of Attadale, while Ms Smith worked in the northern suburb of Joondalup.

Today, Ms Lee, who was treated in a Phuket hospital and allowed to leave early today after receiving stitches, and the other travel agents on the familiarisation tour of Phuket were checking out of the five-star Katathani Beach Resort and heading for home.

Outside the resort today, Jenni Thuge, her mother Dianne and Rebecca Edgell, all from Cronulla, heard the piercing screams at about 10.30pm.

''I heard someone screaming loudly and yelling 'Help, help,'' Jenni Thuge said.

''It was horrible.''

Ms Thuge turns 40 on Saturday and is on Phuket with her mother and a dozen friends for a week-long holiday celebration.

Her mother Dianne said: ''We read the news this morning and were shocked. We couldn't believe that this could happen. Phuket is such a pleasant place.''

Rebeccas Edgell said: ''We've decided to not carry bags just to play safe, although I forgot and brought mine with me just now.''

The three women plan said they were determined to not let the tragedy ruin their long-planned holiday.

''We read about drink-spiking in Bali and decided to come to Phuket instead.''

Dianne added: ''These things can happen in Parramatta Road. We just feel so sorry for the poor woman. But it's hard to blame Phuket.''

The mood was sombre inside the busy resort in just one corner of the lobby as the travel agents prepared to head straight back to Perth. They were reluctant to talk to the media and grieving for their companion.

Elsewhere, though, hundreds of guests enjoyed the swimming pools or headed for a walk along the Kata Noi beach. Resort managers said the Katathani is full and about 80 per cent occupied by Australians.

Australian honorary consul Larry Cunningham was meeting with police and the tour group in private, with a media conference promised for 2pm local time.

Local Saitong Jankeaw, aged 40, sells popular papaya salad close to the point where Ms Smith collapsed to the ground last night with a long knife wound to heart.

''My husband Mr Preeya heard the screams. We were afraid to go out to help, it was so loud and frightening. I asked him whether we should go out but he said 'Maybe it's better not to go’.''

Phuket Police Colonel Boonlert On-Kang, who is heading the investigation, said teams of police all over Phuket were hunting for the Honda Wave motorcycle identified as the getaway vehicle.

Phuket tourism authorities fear a turn-off by visitors, especially from Australia, unless the killers are apprehended quickly.

Both women were in a group of 10 travel agents from Perth who had arrived on Phuket on Monday to inspect the five-star resort, which dominates the small bay at Kata Noi, south of Patong and Karon, on Phuket's west coast.

The motorcycle pair attempted to snatch the bag in the narrow road outside the resort but fled empty-handed.

Wounded Ms Lynn told police later: "We were walking single-file along the road, coming back from dinner. These guys had gone past a couple of times, and that started to bother us.

"Then I heard a noise behind me and I turned to see what I thought was my friend being pushed in the chest. I tried to help her.

"The men rode off, empty-handed. We started walking again, and only then did we realise we'd both been slashed."

Australian woman stabbed to death. Credit: phuketwan.com
Source: News Limited
CCTV footage showing the motorcycle pair wanted over the death. Picture: Phuketwan.com

Two of the travel agents later watched in sorrow, hugging each other and crying, as the body of their holiday companion was shifted from a makeshift resting place in a loading dock at the resort to an ambulance.

Grainy security camera footage captured the men on the motorcycle but the numberplate could not be distinguished.

Police believe a particularly sharp weapon was used.

Perth travel agent Kylie Daff, who is with the group in Phuket, posted on Facebook this morning: "Guys it may have hit local news ... I am ok ... with a supportive group of people ... Can't update further just yet ... will keep post when ok to do so".

Prominent Perth travel agent and former WAFL star George Michalczyk, proprietor of Motive Travel, said he received a text message early this morning from one of his staff members, who was with the group in Phuket.

"One of my staff is with them," he told 6PR.

"It's just amazing how something can get out of hand like this. You would just never ever ever contemplate that something like that would happen."

Mr Michalczyk confirmed all the agents in the group were from Perth.

Australian woman stabbed to death. Credit: phuketwan.com

Source: News Limited

Australian woman stabbed to death. Credit: phuketwan.com

Source: News Limited

Friends comfort each other after the stabbing (above) and the victim's shoes at the scene. Pictures: Phuketwan.com

The brutal murder of a tourist will shock the entire holiday island of Phuket, just as it shocked staff and guests at the Katathani last night. The owner of the Katathani, Sombut Atiset, came to see what had happened.

Australian honorary consul Larry Cunningham sped to the Phuket International Hospital in Phuket City to check the condition of the wounded woman before joining Phuket police in interviewing her at the resort.

Australian embassy officials were earlier contacting Ms Smith's family in Australia.

The Katathani on Kata Noi bay is one of the quieter parts of Phuket, some distance from the noisy swirl of crowded Karon and Patong and one of the least likely places on Phuket for this kind of brutal murder.

Bag-snatching by youths on motorcycles is one of the perils of Phuket, particularly for women out walking in isolated streets. But it was the first time anyone could remember a tourist being killed.

A young German visitor had her thumb cut off in a similar savage incident in Krabi Town, a province nearby, earlier this year.

Source: HWT Image Library

The five-star Katathani Beach Resort is on Phuket's west coast (Google Maps)

Her thumb was successfully reattached in surgery on Phuket and four youths were quickly arrested and charged.

Lately, talk on Phuket has been about the mysterious deaths of two Canadian sisters whose bodies were found on Friday in a room on Phi Phi, another holiday island a ferry ride from Phuket, or the six drownings of tourists that have occurred on Phuket beaches in the space of one month and a day.

Phuket police are likely to pull our all stops in their efforts to find the killers. The holiday island made international news in February when Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner was in a group attacked by axe and knife-wielding security guards at a pub in Phuket City.

Prominent Phuket resort owner-manager Vorasit Issara was seriously injured but Renner was unharmed.

Travel writer Ewen Bell has been travelling to Thailand up to three times a year for the past 12 years and said, although the travel agent's death was tragic, tourists were unlikely to be deterred.

"It is terribly sad, but when you take it into context, anywhere in the world you go that has a lot of tourists walking around drunk is probably not going to be terribly safe," Mr Bell said.

"Places like Phuket tend to attract the worst aspects of tourism, whereas the rest of Thailand is much nicer to travel in."

Mr Bell said Thailand takes good care of tourists, with only a small number landing in holiday drama.

"You don't hear about people having their bags snatched and that kind of thing there, like you do in Hanoi and other places where you have lots of tourists in one spot," Mr Bell said.

"Australians know Thailand really well and they know that there are places that are safe and those that aren't safe.

"I don't think they are going to be put off travelling to Thailand."

FACTS ABOUT PHUKET

- Phuket is Thailand's biggest island at 540 square kilometres. It is located 860km south of the capital Bangkok.

- Figures from December 2011 show Australians made up the second largest number of tourists visiting Phuket, after those from China and just in front of those from Russia. In the first three quarters of last year, 172,984 Australians visited Phuket.

- The average international visitor spends approximately AUD$160 per day in Phuket, according to figures from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Tourism is worth AUD $3,370 million per year to the province.

- The Australian Government website, Smarttraveller.gov.au, currently recommends Australians ``exercise a high degree of caution'' in Thailand.

- Smarttraveller.gov.au notes: ``Tourists have also been robbed after the bags they were carrying were snatched by thieves on motorcycles or were sliced open by razor blades. Beware of pickpockets in crowded markets and shopping streets. When visiting these areas leave credit and other cards and licences that are not required locked in a hotel safe or be extra vigilant when carrying these items.'

Australian girl, 9, attacked in Bali

2012-06-14T16:41:00.001+01:00

A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl from New South Wales has allegedly been raped while holidaying in Bali with her family. Australian authorities last night confirmed that police were investigating the alleged attack. ''Australian consular officials are providing assistance to the girl's family,'' the Foreign Affairs Department said in a statement. ''We understand a suspect has been arrested.'' Advertisement: Story continues below The girl was reportedly snatched by a local driver from her bedroom about 9pm (local time) on Sunday and taken to a nearby vacant block at the popular beach town of Kuta. The girl's screams alerted people nearby, it was reported on the Seven Network yesterday. It said a 33-year-old man had been arrested and charged. The girl's family, believed to be from the Byron Bay area in northern NSW, remains in Bali.

Intellectual property police raided South Pattaya’s Tukcom electronics mall,

2012-05-25T17:29:00.001+01:00

Intellectual property police raided South Pattaya’s Tukcom electronics mall, arresting five people and seizing stocks of counterfeit name-brand mobile telephones and phone cases.

Sirithip Panrat, 23; Saisunee Areeyachai, 32; Sapudee Saeteng, 25; Nopadol Sae-lee, 21; Sa-rawut Aoeiwan, 19, and a Thai man without identification were apprehended in the May 16 crackdown.

Intellectual property police arrested 6 vendors of knockoff phones operating out of Tukcom Pattaya.

Region 2 Intellectual Property investigator, Lt. Col Chaiyadit Punyamuansakul said the dealers were charged with counterfeiting intellectual property, selling fake items and violating trademarks.

Truck driver shot in attempted hijacking

2012-05-25T17:27:00.001+01:00

A Chonburi truck driver was injured after being shot during an attempted hijacking in Pong. Karun Chumnak, 28, suffered a single wound to the back May 4 on Highway 36. He was treated and released from Banglamung Hospital. The driver of the 18-wheeler told police he had been pulled over by a car blowing a siren and driven by a man dressed like a plainclothes police officer. Thinking it was yet another shakedown by Thai highway police, Karun immediately offered a 50 baht bribe, but the suspect refused, ordering the driver to exit the cab. Having heard stories of truck hijackings in the area, Karun refused. The suspect pulled a gun and fired once into the cab’s window. Karun said he hit the gas to escape and the would-be hijacker fired again. Police said a Pluakdaeng gang has been victimizing trucks in that area.

A Danish man has been arrested for allegedly dealing marijuana out of a Soi Honey Inn bar.

2012-05-25T17:26:00.001+01:00

Claus Andersen, 37, was apprehended in a May 11 sting operation after allegedly selling 15 grams of weed to a foreigner cooperating with authorities. The drugs and the 1,000 baht note used to purchase the grass were confiscated as evidence.

Police said Andersen admitted to dealing drugs, saying he bought the marijuana from another foreigner he knows only as “Martin.” Police are now expanding their investigation to catch the bigger dealer.

Claus Andersen allegedly was caught selling marijuana to an undercover foreigner.

Man shot on motorbike in central Pattaya

2012-05-25T17:24:00.001+01:00

police are searching for two men who killed a well-known partier as he drove his motorbike through central Pattaya. Chanaphol Jantharaksa, 20, was found slumped over his pink Yamaha Fino May 13 about 200 meters from the Baan Bung noodle shop on Central Road where he was shot in the neck and shoulder. Witness Rachanee Panthong, 24, gave police a description of two men on another pink motorbike she saw shoot Chanaphol and escape toward Sukhumvit Road. Police put up roadblocks but were unable to locate the suspects. Pattaya Police Superintendent Col. Thummanoon Mankhong indicated Chanaphol was well known to police for his repeated fights and frequent all-night partying.

An Omani man who demanded a refund from an underage prostitute is behind bars after the girl’s aunt was called in to sort out their dispute.

2012-05-25T17:22:00.001+01:00

Majid Mohammed Said Al Gheilani, 50, was charged with separating a minor from her guardian May 11 after the girl’s aunt, Lamun Sidachomphu, was called to Pattaya Police Station to help sort out a confrontation between the Omani and her niece.

Majid Mohammed Said Al Gheilani was arrested for separating a minor from her guardian.

The teenager told police Al Gheilani had picked her up on Beach Road five days earlier, offering her 1,000 baht a day for a month to stay with him. After five days, however, the Omani had a change of heart and demanded the return of 2,000 baht cash and a 2,750 baht mobile phone he had bought for her.

The girl refused and the argument ended up before police. The girl contacted her aunt, who insisted Al Gheilani be charged with taking the underage girl. She then feigned ignorance of what her niece had been doing, asking why a hotel would allow a minor to go to the Omani’s hotel room.

Gheilani claimed he didn’t know the girl was 17 and put up a defiant front, telling police he wasn’t afraid to be jailed. The police took him at his word and locked him up.

Briton 'with foetuses' arrested in Thailand

2012-05-18T14:04:00.001+01:00

British citizen has been arrested in Bangkok for possessing human foetuses, Thai police have confirmed. The man, thought to be of Taiwanese origin, was arrested from the city's Chinatown area on Thursday. Thai police said the foetuses were packed in the man's luggage. It is not known why the arrested man was in possession of the foetuses.

Suspected serial killer Nirut Sonkhamhan hanged himself in prison on Wednesday morning

2012-04-23T04:30:00.001+00:00

Suspected serial killer Nirut Sonkhamhan hanged himself in prison on Wednesday morning, but the events leading to his suicide were set in motion last month, when the Mirror Foundation noticed an odd pattern of disappearances in the South.

RIGHT Convenience store surveillance camera footage shows Nirut Sonkhamhanwalking in tobuycoffee,which police believed he would mix with insecticide and give to his victims.

LEFT Patanapong Sriphinphro, head of the CSD’sSubdivision 5,wholed the investigation.

The organisation, dedicated to finding missing persons, noticed that several pickup truck drivers had vanished under ominously similar circumstances.

The drivers all offered rental services. They all went missing between Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon. And all were hired to go to the same destination.

This information was shared with investigators at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), who immediately suspected the cases were not only linked, but could lead to a trail of murder.

As the investigators dug deeper, they began to unearth convincing evidence that the missing drivers had been killed by one man.

The first piece of the puzzle was a police report recording the murder of Julsil Salangsing, a driver in Chumphon's Tha Sae district, in early March.

His face was disfigured after being beaten with a rock, but the cause of death was determined to be poisoning with insecticide.

Two more truck drivers, Wachara Suebchuea and Robkwaen Klapsoon, were also missing in the same province.

All three had been hired to go to the same destination in Chumphon. Investigators were certain of a link.

On March 17, Chumphon police informed the CSD of the discovery of another body, thought to be a victim of the same killer.

Jamnong Srirachart, a pickup truck driver for hire, had died from insecticide poisoning as well. The CSD realised this was the fourth victim of a serial killer.

The CSD expanded its investigation to cover other southern provinces. Sure enough, they received reports from police in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi province of two pickup truck drivers who had been poisoned recently.

But Phaithoon Pattalapho and Montree Kalam had survived. The two told police they had cheated death in January and March respectively, at the hands of a man who had asked them to transport something to Chumphon.

Their testimony provided the evidence investigators had been looking for to pinpoint the murderer, and a warrant was issued for the arrest of Nirut, 43, a native of Songkhla province.

The CSD were confident they had identified their man, who was also the subject of an arrest warrant over the death of a 67-year-old woman in Kalasin.

The woman's body was dumped in a river and some of her valuables stolen by her killer, police said.

On April 9 another corpse was discovered _ yet another pickup truck driver.

Somsak Srijampa was found dead in Prachuap Khiri Khan, his manner of death leading the CSD to believe he too had been killed by Nirut.

The CSD believe Nirut stole his victims' trucks and sold them to a gang in Hat Yai district of Songkhla.

After finishing his business he would fly from Hat Yai to hide in Bangkok for a while, before hunting for a new victim.

In his most recent trip, surveillance cameras footage showed Nirut taking a pink taxi from the airport.

The licence plate of the vehicle was captured clearly on the airport's cameras, making it easy to track down the taxi driver.

The driver vividly remembered the passenger he dropped off at a Big C department store in Nakhon Pathom.

Last Monday, a witness helped police locate Nirut, who was staying in a rented apartment. Police captured him at the property that afternoon, confiscating a bottle of powdered insecticide, 17,600 baht in cash, and the clothes he wore on the day he supposedly killed his latest victim.

Police said Nirut claimed he spent most of the money he made from selling the stolen trucks on gambling.

"I think he was the serial killer... he confessed to killing all of them. Two people are still missing because he could not remember exactly where he dumped their bodies at night," said Patanapong Sriphinphro, head of the CSD's Subdivision 5 and leader of the investigation.

Nirut tried to kill himself in custody on the day of his arrest, and was successful in his second attempt, hanging himself with his shirt while detained in Prachuap Khiri Khan on Wednesday.

Police crackdown on illicit drugs at Na Khon Si Thammarat prison

2012-04-23T04:28:00.003+00:00

The police confiscated more than 1,700 methamphetamine pills and almost 300 mobile phones in a pre-dawn raid at Na Khon Si Thammarat prison. The deputy director–general of the Corrections Department, Sophon Thitithammarak, and Nakhon Si Thammrat Governor Wirote Jiwarangsan told a news conference on Sunday that the early morning raid by 650 commandos and police officers at the prison found 280 mobile phones and tablets, 1,700 pills of methamphetamine and 50 grammes of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, in the prison. Ten sets of drug paraphernalia, gambling equipment, knives and 47,000 baht in cash were also seized. Mr Sophon said he would propose Sunday’s operation to suppress illegal drugs and forbidden items in Nakhon Si Thammarat as a model for other prisons nationwide. Meanwhile, Narong Yongnarongdejkul, head of Na Khon Si Thammarat prison, was transferred to an inactive post. Pol Maj Gen Ronnapong Saikaew, commander of the provincial police station said about 10 officials are allegedly involved in the case and police are gathering evidence to seek arrest warrants for them, along with two inmates who were allegedly major drug traders at the prison.

Police crackdown on illicit drugs at Na Khon Si Thammarat prison

2012-04-23T04:28:00.001+00:00

Pattaya Drug Dealing Brit-Cum English Teacher Caught

2012-04-23T04:26:00.001+00:00

Pol. Capt. Suphan Jaiharn, Deputy Inspector said that he knew that Mr. Steven Palmer was an English teacher at Singsamut school and was selling ya-ice to customers in Pattaya. Mr. Steven Palmer confessed that he teaches English at famous school but during school holidays he didn’t teach and stayed in a house that he had bought in Pattaya. He bought the ya-ice from a friend in Bangkok, at first he bought only for personal use but later he ran out of money so he had to sell the house and move to a rental room and Mr.Steven started selling ya-ice to beer-bar prostitutes and tourists in Pattaya. Mr.Steven is charged with sales and consumption of crystal methamphetamine. He has been detained at Pattaya police station and will to be prosecuted according to the Thai law.

2012-04-17T07:32:00.001+00:00

Bangkok Street Crime

Ms Sandiford to be executed for drug trafficking.

yellow jacket stun gun case for iphone

Wanted gunman shot dead by police

Iranian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday for allegedly smuggling about four kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine

Police have smashed a local flesh trade racket supplying Thai women to Yakuza gangsters for forced prostitution in Japan

Eight drug traffickers were killed in a border shootout with soldiers and police early Monday morning

The number of Britons arrested overseas is on the rise, official figures have shown.

A Briton Arrested For Illegal Online Football Gambling

Aussie Woman Jailed For False Rape Report

Pattaya Two Fake Cops & Women Trick Briton and Thai Wife

Mysterious Death of Canadian Sisters Poisonous Mushroom Suspected

Main suspect in 2008 Pattaya murder case arrested by Police

THREE Australian women have told of hearing "horrible" screams as a mum from Perth was knifed and killed in the street outside a Phuket resort.

Australian killed in Phuket

Phuket stabbing tragedy

Australian woman stabbed to death. Credit: phuketwan.comSource: News LimitedCCTV footage showing the motorcycle pair wanted over the death. Picture: Phuketwan.com

Friends comfort each other after the stabbing (above) and the victim's shoes at the scene. Pictures: Phuketwan.com

The five-star Katathani Beach Resort is on Phuket's west coast (Google Maps)

Australian girl, 9, attacked in Bali

Intellectual property police raided South Pattaya’s Tukcom electronics mall,

Truck driver shot in attempted hijacking

A Danish man has been arrested for allegedly dealing marijuana out of a Soi Honey Inn bar.

Man shot on motorbike in central Pattaya

An Omani man who demanded a refund from an underage prostitute is behind bars after the girl’s aunt was called in to sort out their dispute.

Briton 'with foetuses' arrested in Thailand

Suspected serial killer Nirut Sonkhamhan hanged himself in prison on Wednesday morning

Police crackdown on illicit drugs at Na Khon Si Thammarat prison

Police crackdown on illicit drugs at Na Khon Si Thammarat prison

Pattaya Drug Dealing Brit-Cum English Teacher Caught

Australian woman stabbed to death. Credit: phuketwan.com
Source: News Limited
CCTV footage showing the motorcycle pair wanted over the death. Picture: Phuketwan.com