Police have arrested a Yakuza gangster for alleged extortion in Thailand, a Chinese man for a 10-million-baht scam in China and 48 Pakistanis travelling without valid passports.
Katsuhiko Yamazaki, 62, was arrested at Old Siam Plaza in Phra Nakhon district last Wednesday for the attempted extortion of a compatriot with a business in Thailand, Pol Maj Gen Pananchai Chuenjaitham, the investigation chief of the Immigration Bureau (IB) said yesterday.
After his demand for 20,000 baht was refused in May, he flew to Japan and allegedly set fire to his victim's relative's house. He then raised his demand to 50,000 baht, and the victim filed a complaint with the Japanese embassy.
Pol Maj Gen Pananchai said Mr Yamazaki had visited Thailand often since February and was wanted for many crimes in Japan, including assault and rape.
Immigration police also arrested Chinese national Xu Xingying, 35, for allegedly embezzling about 10 million baht worth of down payments from buyers of residential units in the northern Chinese province of Hebei in 2014, then failing to transfer the titles to them.
Mr Xu fled China and was arrested at Don Mueang airport on June 12 on a warrant that had been issued by Chinese authorities, according to Pol Maj Gen Pananchai.
He is currently being detained by immigration police, pending the completion of the extradition process.
Additionally, Pol Maj Gen Pananchai said 48 Pakistanis were arrested at an apartment building on Bearing Road in Bang Na district on Monday.
He said 26 of them arrived in the country six years ago and their passports had expired, while 14 others had no passports. Eight of them were carrying refugee application cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but their applications had been rejected, he said.