Foreign 'Romeos' continue preying on wealthy Thai women

Foreign 'Romeos' continue preying on wealthy Thai women

Despite crackdowns, romance crime remains rampant, writes Wassayos Ngamkham

These four criminals (seated) ran an online romance scam from Pattaya until they were caught in 2014 and sentenced to prison. Police confirmed with female victims the gang netted millions of baht. (File photo via Pattaya Daily News)
These four criminals (seated) ran an online romance scam from Pattaya until they were caught in 2014 and sentenced to prison. Police confirmed with female victims the gang netted millions of baht. (File photo via Pattaya Daily News)

Foreign gangs behind romance scams targeting wealthy Thai women are flourishing, despite intensive efforts to crack down on the crime.

Police say numerous arrests and convictions don't seem to have deterred gangs from preying on unsuspecting women.

The scams typically target lone wealthy women, with their vulnerability exploited to make millions of baht, which in the eyes of many hoodlums outweighs the risk of arrest. This draws newcomers, mostly African nationals, to enter the playing field.

"Police are only those who solve the problem at the end of the river," Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Thitiraj Nhonghanpitak said, suggesting the best way to weed out the criminal activity relies largely on state agencies which oversee the entry of such people into Thailand.

The CIB chief said authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must work closely with the Immigration Bureau to stop foreign gangsters entering the country. Without effective controls, police officers end up hunting for gangsters after they have cheated large sums of money from victims.

Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj waged a war on romance gangs two years ago. His operations were well-planned and many suspects were rounded up. However, skimming today's newspapers and incidents on social media, he still finds the same tricks perpetrated by new faces, followed by fresh complaints filed by new victims.

He said most romance scams also feed other crimes and "confuse police".

One recent case that hit newspaper headlines concerns the theft of an identity card from office worker Nicha Kiartthanapaiboon. Those behind the theft opened 10 bank accounts with eight different banks under her name to receive money wired by victims of a romance scam gang.

Not only did women fall prey to the gang, allegedly run by Nigerian man Simon Eko Ayuk, but Ms Nicha was also made a victim as police initially charged her with colluding with the gang and she was jailed for three days as a result.

Despite her claim that her ID card had been stolen for use in the wrondgoing, investigators initially doubted her explanation.

Many tricks can be used in romance scams, but all are aimed at using "love" between gangsters and female victims developed on Facebook, Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj said. Some women are not aware they are being fooled when they see good-looking foreigners with profiles saying they are doctors, captains and even military officers.

The gangsters spin elaborate stories asking their victims to jointly invest in businesses or simply pay customs fees for valuable gifts they promise to send them to seal their romantic ties, Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj said.

Police have seen through these tricks and, in some cases, even know their whereabouts. Late last year, tourist and immigration police raided condominiums at RCA, Bangkok's pub hub, and residential areas on Romklao Road where they found many African men entering Thailand without permission or overstaying their visas.

Yet this knowledge and subsequent crackdowns are not enough. Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj is calling on "officials working upriver" to step up efforts to prevent the crime. Foreign affairs officials must carefully examine visa applications while immigration officers must intensify inspection of travellers, especially those from African countries.

The current measures to screen out suspected persons are based on acceptable standards, but it will be better if the authorities do more to cut short criminals at the front gate of the country, Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj said.

The Tourist Police Bureau is helping to tighten the measures by looking out for irregularities among African nationals. However, the bureau's deputy chief Surachet Hakphan admitted it is not easy to block those criminals hiding themselves among tourists as they tend to change names and nationalities to "free" themselves from the black list.

Police agencies agree more work is needed to better tackle romance scams to prevent other crimes. Their aim is not only to handle identity theft, but to focus on connections with more serious crimes such as drug offences.

An investigation found members of romance scams transfer money to drug trafficking gangs, according to Narcotics Suppression Bureau chief Sommai Kongwisaisuk. Officers are currently closely monitoring a "black community" in which African drug suspects live with their hired Cambodian wives in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district.

He said their travel between the two countries prompted police to plan a large-scale crackdown at this front gate of Thailand, which are among areas located "upstream of the river", in Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj's words.

Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th

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