"Many foreign victims expected" as two beefy extortionists arrested in Chiang Mai set-up

[daveAustin]

Money is obviously owed or he would have gone to cops sooner. Wife gambling debts? Might be an idea for the guy to move his family after this, especially since his name has been plastered everywhere.

[SiSePuede419]

Chiang Mai sounds nice ?

[robblok]

1 hour ago, sandrew33 said:

So, in such circumstances, you are condoning - right? 

 

If he owes money under some sort of contact then the correct approach is to seek to collect it my legal means. 

 

Sending 2 big bastards to threaten to kill his family is extortion. There's no "...well..." about it. 

Legal means don't always work you can be 100% legal and right but people can still refuse to pay and ignore the courts. There are quite a few people that work like that getting in debt and failing to pay while living the high life. 

[BaldRichard]

The local BIB are promtoting this arrest like crazy through Thai media.  Some Thai media covergae talk of "transnational" crime gangs etc and that men fitting their description have been involved in a number of other stand over type activities.  BIB already have photos and a report up on their Line page (@191chiangmai).  No doubt soon on their FB page as well.

[LannaGuy]

4 minutes ago, robblok said:

Legal means don't always work you can be 100% legal and right but people can still refuse to pay and ignore the courts. There are quite a few people that work like that getting in debt and failing to pay while living the high life. 

It is true that the Thai system is appalling at making people pay debts. My friend sold a car through a Chiang Rai dealer and never got the 320,000 she was owed despite a contract and because the garage owner was a 'friend' (known for 20 years) she signed over the car to the new purchaser. Police/Courts all worthless to get the debt 2 years later. This does NOT excuse violence, of course, nor threats of it but the system stinks.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, TechnikaIII said:

Show their faces!

Not that I would ever go near such an ugly sack of sh*t.

 

2 hours ago, TechnikaIII said:

Show their faces!

Not that I would ever go near such an ugly sack of sh*t.

They both have Thai wives, so they must be really, really rich as no Thai lady would go near their fat ugly bodies otherwise.

[robblok]

28 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

I had some friends I used to train with. Our instructor and two brothers from Glasgow. They did nightclub door work, security and debt collecting. They followed a guy round in a EU country, took pics of his wife, kids, family home etc. Then when he went to the UK on business they abducted him, threatened him, including with guns, and threatened his family.

 

All to collect a debt and get paid. They got 12 years for the leader and 8 years for the other two.

 

Debt collection might be a difficult process but in most countries making threats with violence results in a custodial sentence.

hmm yea I can get why they got punished.. its of course highly illegal but its frustrating too how some people seem to skip out on debt. 

[DiamondKing]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

Gotta say, you're not really helping your case here.

 

i dont have a case 

Just laughing at all these louth mouths who speak real tough when i reallife they would say jack sht

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

It is true that the Thai system is appalling at making people pay debts. My friend sold a car through a Chiang Rai dealer and never got the 320,000 she was owed despite a contract and because the garage owner was a 'friend' (known for 20 years) she signed over the car to the new purchaser. Police/Courts all worthless to get the debt 2 years later. This does NOT excuse violence, of course, nor threats of it but the system stinks.

Yes it does not excuse violence.. because it could lead to a wild west way of life nobody want. But it is real frustrating that many people get away with it. Even in my home country its had to collect debts that are owned. I have quite some people owning me money (through business) but the frustration of going through the courts for small amounts paying all the court fees and so on and then hoping they don't go bankrupt is frustrating. So I understand how people feel about these things. 

[Baerboxer]

Just now, robblok said:

hmm yea I can get why they got punished.. its of course highly illegal but its frustrating too how some people seem to skip out on debt. 

 

A lot of this type of debt is created by loans that are for shady deals, or will avoid tax, or to finance illegal things.

 

Normal business people trying to get payment often have a terrible time and end up out of pocket one way or another. A neighbor in the UK had a small building firm when he was younger. He was made bankrupt because a local businessman who he did a lot of work for wouldn't pay. He lost his temper and smashed the guys car up. Result - he got put in prison and never got his money. As a side issue he said the customer was a prominent local businessman and free mason. As was the magistrate who dished out the sentence.

 

It's frustrating, the law doesn't always deliver justice, is more friendly to those with wealth, but violence and violent acts get punished,

 

 

[catman20]

6 hours ago, Berkshire said:

So did the Leonard guy actually owe the money?  There's a difference between extortion and "debt collection." 

agreed if he owed the money he should be the one arrested and jailed, if it was extortion throw there sorry asses in jail and then deport them both.  

[Flustered]

44 minutes ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

For the life of me i fail to see the manliness of being in a motorcycle gang. I would even go as far to say it's a sign of a coward.

Motorcycle?

 

The fat guy would need a fork lift.........

 

I doubt he could even walk more than a few yards without getting out of breath and collapsing.

[BaldRichard]

3 minutes ago, Flustered said:

Motorcycle?

 

The fat guy would need a fork lift.........

 

I doubt he could even walk more than a few yards without getting out of breath and collapsing.

Harley will do it ok.

 

Cannot see riding round with the wife and kids on a Honda Click as being viable

[impulse]

I don't have a clue what happened here, just like the rest of us.

 

But there's always the possibility that Leonard ratted these guys out for nefarious purposes of his own.  Could have been as simple as wanting his debt problem to go away- or his competition to get deported.

 

Or, they may be the extortionists he's claiming.  

 

Hard to tell without being there and/or knowing the players.

[jenifer d]

1 hour ago, snooky said:

 

 

Giving out the name of the informer has been against the law in the US (and probably other countries) since around 1963 after a picture was published of a person who pointed out a notorious bank robber (Willie Sutton) to the police and was subsequently killed by the mob within a few days afterward.  Where are the brains???  How do authorities expect people to come forward with information on criminal activities when this process continues?

yes, it does seem rather indefensible that they give out the name of the informant (even though he is a victim, the fact he went

to the police definitely puts his life in danger since these two are evidently debt collectors for someone else) and cover up 

the faces of the perps- 

i highly doubt these 2 guys were merely extortionists, more likely debt collectors- why would the vic even cough up 300k in the first place???

but if they were just extortionists, it is hard to extort somebody who is doing nothing wrong...

add my voice to the chorus that thinks there is much more than we are being told at this point...

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, jenifer d said:

but if they were just extortionists, it is hard to extort somebody who is doing nothing wrong...

add my voice to the chorus that thinks there is much more than we are being told at this point...

 

You're confusing extortion with blackmail.  It's tough to blackmail someone who hasn't done anything wrong.  But extorting them is simple, and extremely common.  Protection rackets around the world are doing it every day.

 

Edit:  That's not to say you can't increase your chances of becoming a victim (by renting a jet-ski for example), but you certainly don't have to do anything wrong.

[cyberfarang]

2 hours ago, Berkshire said:

I just said that I did not condone nor defend the actions of these behemoths.  What's wrong with you guys?  I just want to know if these dudes go around extorting money from innocent people, or are they in fact debt collectors?  If the latter, most of us are in no danger.  Understand? 

I used to know an English guy in Chiang Mai who became a loan shark. His customers were all Farlangs, as there are many of them scraping by and desperate in Chiang Mai, maybe the majority.

 

He was charging 200% interest, yet this did not deter people borrowing money from him. If someone failed to pay on time or could not pay, he had 4 Thai heavies on his staff that had a means of persuading the debtors that it was in their best interests to pay up. So my guess is that the thugs did not go around extorting money from innocent people at random.

[darksidedog]

If they were indeed simple collectors, the debt will not have gone away, and I would suspect the man owed will be somewhat unhappy.

Also unlikely there are only two collectors if it is as big as the police suggest.

I suspect we have not seen the end of this story.

[free123]

i think this two blokes had a smart little business going....first legal is super slow here when it comes to get money someone ows u...so they possed as a short cut...it usualy works with fear...they thought we are two really disgusting guys if we look bad everybody is frighten of us....so they pay up quickly and we have our ten percent cut in no time....

[Jeremy50]

On 3/17/2017 at 3:30 PM, BaldRichard said:

From another Thai service

That is one ugly fat <deleted>. Was he stealing to finance his eating? Thailand seems to be full of these lardy types, waddling about from bar to bar.

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Both suspects deny extortion with menaces saying they were just collecting a debt for a foreign friend.

Hmm extortion without a permit. 

[elgordo38]

1 hour ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Chiang Mai sounds nice ?

Like every where else we have our share of riff and raff. 

[jhonnie]

The article says the 'victims' name has neen transliterated from Thai ?The  real name of this man may well have been lost in translation.As for deporting these guys why on earth do that? Bang them up.If they have lived here for a lengthy period of time it shouldn't take too long to find some further reasons to extend their stay even longer

[catman20]

41 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

I used to know an English guy in Chiang Mai who became a loan shark. His customers were all Farlangs, as there are many of them scraping by and desperate in Chiang Mai, maybe the majority.

 

He was charging 200% interest, yet this did not deter people borrowing money from him. If someone failed to pay on time or could not pay, he had 4 Thai heavies on his staff that had a means of persuading the debtors that it was in their best interests to pay up. So my guess is that the thugs did not go around extorting money from innocent people at random.

if you get yourself in a position that you have to go to a money leader its your own fault as you can see the writing on the wall before you get to that stage. dont borrow money if you cant pay it back. people who do deserve what they get.

[BaldRichard]

There are some funny comments coming up on Thai FB about this and also good job BIB and lock away the key stuff, rough translations from me:

 

"Thai girls should note tha not all westerners rich or good"

"They are big, like in Pattaya !!!"

"it is still going to be a root to the inmates"

"arrested two people, used the entire station, damn they are big 555"

 

Pretty much the same as TV :)

[BaldRichard]

15 minutes ago, jhonnie said:

The article says the 'victims' name has neen transliterated from Thai ?The  real name of this man may well have been lost in translation.As for deporting these guys why on earth do that? Bang them up.If they have lived here for a lengthy period of time it shouldn't take too long to find some further reasons to extend their stay even longer

The real name is translated a lot better on some Thai sites and quite easy to work out.  First name reported in OP is correct as in Leonard (so also Leo or Len).  It is also being reported thathe mention to Paul as a general whinge that he was owed a debt from a business investment in a restaurant in CM to the extent that he believed he had been dudded by his business partner.  Then we have the grey area where Paul says he was tasked with collecting, while Len says it was just a whinge to a fellow Oz and evidenced that by showing that he had reported the initial business dispute to the Police a few weeks later.  Then alleged that Paul fronts up and says that he and Ad are out of pocket from attempting to collect on disputed business dealing between Len and partner.

 

Anyhow all have been here ten years plus and certainly Len and Ad have wife and kids here, so somewhat sorry for them.  Seeing that you an drive unlicensed of a bridge and kill 9 in Bangkok, and drive into cyclists here in CM and klll and still not be troubled by imprisonment, and that surely a decade in CM had taight them something whether there are prospects for this to go away....after all, it's just about money   or is this going to go all the way as bad Farangs under the "good guys in, bad guy out" campaign.

 

Or, as so often,  we never hear any more about it again.........until the next arrests

[digger70]

I say If you owe money make sure that you owe it to a bank not loansharks or mafia lenders ,you could end up dead.say no more!

[TomJoad]

2 hours ago, malibukid said:

too much white trash here in CM

I was near Khao San Rd in BKK a couple weeks ago and couldn't help noticing how a lot of the foreigners there looked as if they'd recently been released from a halfway house.  Maybe took the money the prison gave them to buy new clothes and purchased a one-way ticket to Thailand to start a new life.   A lot different from 10 years ago.   

[payttayasquirt]

Humpty dumpty on the left looks like he wouldn't be able to get up if knocked over without a crane.

Nothing scary about these guys, just fat pieces of shit

[worgeordie]

1 hour ago, BaldRichard said:

Harley will do it ok.

 

Cannot see riding round with the wife and kids on a Honda Click as being viable

Yeh,a Harley-Davidson FAT BOY 

regards worgeordie