As everyone knows, Thailand is a popular tourist country. The boom started during the 1970s. Although the large amount of tourists helped the economy of Thailand a lot, it also had a downside. That is the inevitable entrance of crime syndicates from all around the world. German, British, Irish, Russian, West African, Filipino, Yakuza, Chinese Triads, Taiwanese, and South Korean Mafias started to crowd the country and corrupt it with criminal activities.
Just recently, a notorious Russian crime boss was arrested in Thailand at the request of Interpol’s Russian bureau as they attempt to clean out mafia networks and criminal activities thriving in Thailand. From illegal taxis to underground casinos, Thailand is contaminated with criminal activities. Anyway, the mafia boss that was arrested was Alexander Matusov, 52 years old. He is suspected of leading the “Chelkovo” mafia gang and being responsible for lots of murders and kidnappings in Russia. He was arrested on June 18th, 2014 by the Thai police in the eastern city, Sattahip. He was charged with four murders. The police officially announced through a press conference that Matusov was the leader of the Chelkovo gang and that the gang has over 100 members. The gang committed all kinds of crimes, such as contract killing, torture, and kidnappings. Citizens of Thailand, including businessmen and state officials, are terrified of the gang. Gang Chelkovo was originally active in Moscow, Tula, and many other cities from 1995 to 2009. They had committed many more crimes before entering and acting in Thailand. When convicted, the gang leader will receive up to 15 years in jail. The Russian Embassy, wanting to remove Russian criminal acts from Thailand requested the arrest of Matusov. Matusov first entered Bangkok on September 5, 2009 and moved around Cambodia and Thailand for a few years using fake passports. His arrest warrant was issued in 2010.
Thailand is used as a safe place for many foreign fugitives because of its easy lifestyle and lax law enforcement. The country’s weak and porous borders make it easy for many foreigners to enter. Wikileaks stated that Thailand has been a popular extradition location for the U.S for a long time. Child molesters, narcotics, traffickers and money launderers are often sent to Thailand. Places like Pattaya are often used as havens for foreign criminals because of its “rich” nightlife and “flexible” police officers. Sattahip, the city where Matusov was arrested, is also only a 20-minute drive from Pattaya. Pattaya is also known for its large Russian community. The Thai Junta is currently launching a vigorous campaign to “clean up” criminal and illegal activities from Thailand. However, it seems that the Thai police should deal with their corrupt officers first so that the criminals aren’t allowed to operate by bribing the police. Arresting Matusov being a start, Thailand might be heading for a brighter “criminal-free” future.
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ReplyDeleteHey Williams, interesting topic. I liked how you talked about something that is very close to us. It was really fascinating to read and realize the reality of the Thai situation. One thing that was kind of confusing was the past tense :/ But overall, great work!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the past tense was a bit misleading, but William's post was strong and informative. Even I, as a naive outsider, had a strong suspicion that there was furtive Russian mafia activity when I was in Phuket last year.
DeleteI really like you describe Pattaya as a haven for foreign criminals. I agree with what you wrote here, Thailand homes a lot international criminals, including Russian Mobs. Unfortunately, it is true that our cops are "flexible" and I'm ashamed of that fact. Good blogging, man!
ReplyDeletePat, the mafia has taken a strong foothold in many countries, including the United States. There is a much weaker presence of the Italian mafia due to the RICO act that was passed in the 1970's, but there is still a surprising clandestine presence of the Russian and Israeli mafia and an overt presence of organized crime syndicates that are controlled by Mexican drug cartels.
DeleteDon't feel ashamed about the use of the word 'flexible'. Thailand is a beautiful place with polite, friendly and selfless people. I think you should feel pride in your country.
I totally agree that Thailand is a safe haven for criminals. It'll be very hard for Thailand to be criminal free due to the corrupted nature of the officials. I think that a way to stop the police from accepting bribes is to increase their salary, so bribes are not necessary.
ReplyDeleteSuch a persuasive blog! I totally agree with the fact that Thailand has "laid back" laws and police officials. In Thailand bribing the traffic police when they give out tickets work 90% of the time. Pattaya's stereotype to the locals and the Thais is the city of party (drugs, criminal acts, and lastly sex and prostitution. Although Pattaya is known for tourism, the place turns out to be chaos at times. I think by providing lessons and trainings to the Thai police, and increasing their salary after they've completed their lesson would solve the problem. Because by doing so, they'll have enough money and brains to feed their family.
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