BANGKOK – A 46-year-old Chinese man wanted in an Interpol red warrant on child prostitution-related charges has been arrested at a high-end condominium in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district.
The suspect, identified only as Dai, 46, was taken into custody on Wednesday under a warrant issued by the Criminal Court on Jan. 27, according to Pol. Maj. Gen. Withaya Sriprasertparp, commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD).
Dai is wanted for alleged offenses tied to organizing and forcing others into prostitution, including compelling minors into prostitution. The allegations fall under Article 358 of the Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China, which carries a minimum penalty of one year in prison.
Police said the arrest followed a request from the Chinese Embassy’s police attache in Thailand, who asked Thai authorities to help locate and detain the suspect for extradition.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Withaya said investigators were told that Dai had arranged prostitution activities in China and forced minors under 18 into the sex trade before fleeing the country.
Officers later tracked him to a luxury condo in Huai Khwang. After securing a search warrant, they confirmed his identity and arrested him. Authorities said Dai will be transferred to prosecutors at the Office of the Attorney General so the extradition process can move forward under the law.
Immigration Arrested 17 Chinese Nationals
In a separate case, immigration police arrested 17 Chinese nationals at a Bangkok hotel on Tuesday after they allegedly entered Thailand illegally from Cambodia. Police believe the group left Cambodia after scam centers there were reportedly shut down.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron Rimpadee, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said Wednesday that the arrests came as part of a stepped-up Thai-Chinese operation aimed at intercepting scam suspects along the border.
Reuters reported Wednesday that a senior Cambodian government official said Cambodia has closed nearly 200 scam centers in recent weeks.
Thai police said the 17 suspects, including 31-year-old Kui Ming Zhao, were detained during a Tuesday night raid at a hotel in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron said the group is believed to have slipped into Thailand through a natural border route in Sa Kaeo province near Poipet, a Cambodian casino town.
The suspects reportedly refused to say why they entered Thailand, but police believe they are linked to a scam network that fled the crackdown. Investigators are still working to identify anyone who helped them reach Bangkok.
Late last month, a special marine task force arrested seven Chinese nationals accused of crossing the border illegally into Chanthaburi. Officers also seized dozens of mobile phones and Cambodian SIM cards.
