Big Joke having a big effect on Bangkok transnational crime as thousands of Africans arrested

Crime-buster Surachet Hakpal has said that police operations to rid the country of trans national criminals has already had a big effect on reducing crime of this sort in Bangkok.

He said that in recent months the operations against the illegal activities of foreigners in 1,024 cases have led to 4,000 arrests.

Many of those cleared off the streets were selling drugs, skimming or were involved in romance scams defrauding women.

Surachet – deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau known as Big Joke in the Thai media – said unashamedly that most of those arrested were dark skinned.

He named Nigeria and Guinea as places where many of the criminals hailed from.

Manager reported that DNA was taken from the suspects to help ensure that they would not be able to come back to Thailand after being deported and blacklisted.

Surachet added that many of the suspects that have been arrested had sums like 300-400,000 baht in bank accounts with no explanation of where the money had come from.

Following the ninth leg of an ongoing crackdown he said that all the arrests had helped to see a marked drop in crime of this nature being committed in Bangkok.

The operations of Surachet’s TPB force helped by other police departments have been the most widely reported busts in Thailand in the last few months making the deputy chief something of a celebrity figure.

He is often seen with a glamorous female cop who acts as helper and translator and who has herself been featured in a Thai media obsessed by good looks, sound bites and high profile public figures.

mgronline.com

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