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Police crackdown targets overstaying foreign criminals


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Police crackdown targets overstaying foreign criminals

By The Nation

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Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed national security agencies to get tough on foreign criminals and “influential figures” following the discovery that nearly 100,000 foreigners were overstaying their visas in Thailand.

It is feared that some of these people are committing crimes and damaging Thailand’s image.

 

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Khongcheep Tantrawanich said on Sunday that the government, via national security officers, would continue to enforce the law strictly. This would include the crackdown on influential figures, including foreign criminals, in a bid to narrow the social gap and create safer places for the Thai public.

 

Following the report on overstayers, Khongcheep quoted Prawit as instructing the military, police and administrative officials to seriously crackdown on transnational criminal network members, especially those who have disguised themselves as tourists.

 

Prawit also urged the Royal Thai Police to check on incoming and outgoing visitors and implement greater measures to control, monitor and act against those who have overstayed. 

 

Prawit also urged officers not to get involved with or seek illegal benefits from these people.

Khongcheep said the authorities have arrested foreign criminals in various areas including the Nan, Phra Khanong and On Nut areas in Bangkok, and in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket and Samui. They were conducting both random checks and acting on public complaints.

 

Khongcheep said transnational criminals or foreign criminals in Thailand were involved in various vices such as drug dealing, weapon trading, human trafficking and prostitution, as well as forging passports, selling fake diamonds, online gambling and running call-centre scams. These crimes had resulted in economic damage to the country and tarnished its image.

 

Officials have so far gathered evidence against and arrested 300 such criminals thanks to the crackdown and public assistance in monitoring and reporting suspicious behaviour.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30331420

 

 
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-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-12
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43 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Khongcheep said transnational criminals or foreign criminals in Thailand were involved in various vices such as drug dealing, weapon trading, human trafficking and prostitution, as well as forging passports, selling fake diamonds, online gambling and running call-centre scams. These crimes had resulted in economic damage to the country and tarnished its image.

Pesky foreigners...

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1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

"....following the discovery that nearly 100,000 foreigners were overstaying their visas in Thailand".

What a disgraceful admission of the administrative incompetence of the Thai government. Presumably many of these would have arrived over the past 4 years.

Maybe the problems associated with visa renewal might have something to do with it.

Just alone the time and mind draining inconvenience, travel expenses, having to put up with bad tempered, inflexible, deliberately unhelpful and inept immigration officers plus the loopy laws related to the different visas would be enough to deter anyone from bothering to renew their visa. But that wouldn't occur to them. 

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Might explain why there's a big push in In Phuket. The media is reporting that they're chasing 143 overstayers who were paying up to 100 million baht a month in bribes to the local police; not your run-of-the-mill overstayers, methinks.

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2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

It is feared that some of these people are committing crimes and damaging Thailand’s image

That applies to anyone, including Thais. Way to blame foreigners for tarnishing the countries image.

 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

especially those who have disguised themselves as tourists

With what? - shorts, a bag, 20,000 baht and a passport?

 

My brain goes numb when I read some of this stuff.

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1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

What a disgraceful admission of the administrative incompetence of the Thai government. Presumably many of these would have arrived over the past 4 years.

Maybe the problems associated with visa renewal might have something to do with it.

Just alone the time and mind draining inconvenience, travel expenses, having to put up with bad tempered, inflexible, deliberately unhelpful and inept immigration officers plus the loopy laws related to the different visas would be enough to deter anyone from bothering to renew their visa. But that wouldn't occur to them. 

It's a clearly a number fabricated out of thin air.

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hmmm. well they are certainly cracking down on a lot which is good. but there are still some serious fraudsters here that are living quite freely. wonder why that is. could it be that it could implicate some very high up people? such as . . . . hmm. let's leave that then 5555

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While I have no doubt that a considerable proportion of overstaying foreigners are engaged in some sort of criminal activity, it also is a fact that behind every foreign criminal there is an entire group of local criminals who directly reap benefits from the erstwhile's nefarious doings; and unfortunately many of these locals are in brown uniforms.

 

Why not roll the entire problem up from both ends, Mr. Prawit, if you're oh so concerned about tarnished reputations and all? Or would that be too difficult and it is easier to go after the bad, bad token foreigners?

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1 hour ago, cloudhopper said:

It's a clearly a number fabricated out of thin air.

Every statistic in government Thailand is fabricated. Especially those produced by the Department of Tourism and the GDP growth figures.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

If they were serious about over stayers they would publish a list of names and faces.

Good idea but won't happen. Photos of the overstayers could be linked back to the those officials who are accepting bribes (extortion) to allow them to stay in Thailand. Can't have that happen.

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3 hours ago, nausea said:

Might explain why there's a big push in In Phuket. The media is reporting that they're chasing 143 overstayers who were paying up to 100 million baht a month in bribes to the local police; not your run-of-the-mill overstayers, methinks.

 

This makes little sense. Why not just get Thai Priviledge Visa?

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Erm, what about 'aliens' paying off the immigration, and eventually local, police! The 'big guys' among these (... big criminals) enjoying personal protection from police big brass (in the province and some up to high-up in BKK), and/or, 'more recently' from army officers 'assisting' the BiBs... Na-ah, it's about lowlife overstayers and 'influential persons', not about the police (or army) making big bucks with alien criminals, would endanger higher levels of the corrupted pyramid, wouldn't it...?

 

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But isn't overstaying your visa a crime in itself? Meaning 300 caught and just 99,700 left?

Anyway, a "discovery" of 100,000 people overstaying their visas, sounds more like no system is in place to detect overstaying visas, but we kinda knew that already, thats the way everything works around here. No communication between databases anywhere, nor is there communication anywhere.


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26 minutes ago, HOAX said:

But isn't overstaying your visa a crime in itself? Meaning 300 caught and just 99,700 left?

Anyway, a "discovery" of 100,000 people overstaying their visas, sounds more like no system is in place to detect overstaying visas, but we kinda knew that already, thats the way everything works around here. No communication between databases anywhere, nor is there communication anywhere.

Seems like they have checked all the arrivals and departures and have noticed that 100 000 people arrived without departing

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the figure is ludicrous: 100,000 over-stayers who are also involved with serious crimes such as drug dealing, gun running and people trafficking. Just sounds like the usual Thai way of switching blame from their own people and the government itself from failing to clean up the country. What they are implying is that if all the foreigners were rounded up then Thailand would be a 'perfect' country. Laughable. They should be happy that so many foreigners go to Thailand as tourists or to retire there. A very small number, certainly not 100,000 might commit offences of a minor nature and an extremely small number of serious crime. If it wasn't for foreigners bringing in currency they would be even more of a backward poor country than they are now.  

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Regardless of the justification, actively policing immigration laws is important for every country. Failing to do that and you end up in the mess we have in the US, where millions of illegals demand their "right" to stay.

 

It's hard to convince people that just because you have been illegal for a long time, you are NOT suddenly legal.

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It´s good that they actually try to do something about this. Confusion reigns, though?
If there is 100000 overstayers, that they want to check up and deport, That´s all ok, because they should not be staying in any country in that kind of way.
With todays technology and the simple mindset of most overstayers, it´can´t be so hard to find them, though.
 

  • Most people register with their passport or name in the place they stay. Most are also dumb enough to use their real name, and hotels and landlords are obligated to report that. If they do their job, they will find many more.
  • Checking up Internet connections ordered in real or fake names would probably be a great way to find more of them.
  • With todays technology it would be easy to connect to many more international databases, which would show if some people are using fake passports when entering. That will stop the problem already at the border checkpoints.
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12 hours ago, nausea said:

Might explain why there's a big push in In Phuket. The media is reporting that they're chasing 143 overstayers who were paying up to 100 million baht a month in bribes to the local police; not your run-of-the-mill overstayers, methinks.

Must be something wrong with this numbers. Or each one of them pay around 8 400 000 a year to stay.

Can't believe that. :crazy: 

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