Crime
Multiple Charges are filed Against ‘Tuhao’ and 40 Others
(CTN News) – Chinese billionaire “Tuhao” and 40 associates were charged with a range of crimes, including drug trafficking and money laundering, on Thursday in Bangkok.
Following approval from Naree Tantasathien, the attorney general, Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant, was charged.
The AG ordered Chaiyanat and the other suspects to be brought before the Bangkok South Criminal Court by the Office of Narcotics Litigation.
Charges are based on a 332-page report summarised by an inquiry that National Police Chief Pol oversaw. Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapas presented to the AG last Friday.
They include anything from involvement with international gangs of criminals to drug trafficking, money laundering, and unlawful possession of weapons and ammunition.
Numerous defendants have been accused of running entertainment facilities without a license, employing foreigners without work authorizations, and unauthorized housing immigrants.
Former massage parlor magnate Chuwit Kamolvisit, who contends that Chinese billionaire Tuhao and his network were behind these illegal companies in Thailand, has been instrumental in bringing them to light.
When police stormed a tavern in Bangkok’s Yannawa area on October 26, the inquiry came to a head. The bar has ties to Chaiyanat, who owns the bulk of 22 businesses. Chaiyanat has refuted any connection to drug usage at the bar.
In the course of an investigation into their suspected connections to Chinese gangs and the trafficking of illegal substances, six police officers have been fired. One of them is Tuhao, a Chinese businessman, and his wife, Pol Col Wanthanaree Kornchayanant.
Wanthanaree, the niece of a former national police commander and deputy prime minister Pracha Promnok, served as a colonel in the RTP’s international affairs branch.
Two detectives from Yannawa Police Station and a deputy traffic inspector from Lat Phrao Station were fired. They assist in the short-term release of Chinese detainees who fled.
Investigations into how Immigration Bureau employees helped hundreds of Chinese individuals, including some known criminals, get visas are also ongoing.
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Chinese Businessman ‘Tuhao’ Surrenders to Thai Police to Face Drugs Charges