Crime
Dutch Trafficker and his Thai Wife Assets Seized in Pattaya
The Dutch suspect was identified as Johannes Petrus Maria van Vanarhoven
DSI received a request from the Netherlands to arrest and extradite Johannes Petrus Maria van Vanarhoven and his Thaiwife Mingkwan Kaen-in for their involvement in the trafficking of marijuana through a drug network in the Netherlands.
Thai authorities later found their hideouts which comprise buildings and houses at four locations in Bang Lamung and Sattahip districts of Chonburi.
Thai authorities charged the couple on transnational drug trafficking and money-laundering and will have to face punishment here before being extradited to the Netherlands.
OAG’s litigation chief Surasak Trirattrakul said the Netherlands has also pressed drug trafficking charges against the elder brother of the Dutch suspect but he had earlier been arrested in the Netherlands.
The Dutch and his Thai wife have been accused of smuggling large quantities of marijuana into the Netherlands for sale. They had been involved in drug trafficking for several years and laundering money from the sale of drugs to buy properties and other assets in several countries, including Thailand, he said.
AMLO secretary-general Pol Col Sihanart Prayoonrat said officials initially seized 10 bank accounts connected to the couple and their two children totalling 20 million baht, about 100 million baht worth of buildings and condos in Samut Prakan and three of their cars worth about 30 million baht, gold ornaments. Two handguns and 159 bullets were also seized.
Police have also seized a luxury yacht in Pattaya connected to a Dutch drug suspect, a Department of Special Investigation (DSI) official said on Thursday.
Somboon Sarasith, the DSI’s Special Criminal Case division chief, said authorities decided to seize a yacht in the resort city after evidence showed it was owned by Johannes Petrus Maria van Vanarhoven before he sold the three-bedroom vessel to a Chinese businessman.
Officials are looking for his other assets in Thailand, including a Mercedes Benz, the official added.
He said the couple were found to have used money acquired from the sale of narcotics to buy properties in Thailand, he said.
According to information given Thai authorities by the Dutch authorities, the gang had operated a coffee shop as a front for its illicit drug trading. Drugs had been sold at the shop, bringing income of about 600-800 million baht annually to the shop.
The couple would face punishment in Thailand before being extradited to the Netherlands, authorities said.