Five excise officers wanted by police for allegedly extorting 5,500 baht from a 75-year-old grocery store owner have turned themselves in to answer the charges.
They had been summoned to answer the charges and showed up in the middle of the night on Monday before being released on bail, said Pol Col Anan Worasat, superintendent of the Bang Khen police station.
They face charges of demanding bribes, dereliction of duty, unlawful detention and trespassing, he said.
Investigators will forward the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as the suspects are all state officers, he said.
Only if the NACC refuses to investigate the case, will the police continue their investigation, he said.
The case involving 75-year-old storekeeper Sunaphon Bunkoet came to light on Feb 16 when it was publicised by Ekkapop Laungprasert, the founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rot (Sai Mai must survive) Facebook page, who lodged the complaint with police.
A preliminary police investigation found that the excise officers showed up at the store about 4.50pm on Feb 13, searched the premises without a warrant, took two packs of cigarettes and disappeared into their van before later re-emerging to accuse the owner of selling counterfeit cigarettes.
Ms Sunaphon insisted she had bought all five packs at the same time from the same supplier and had a receipt. It also seemed highly unlikely that just one of the five packs turned out be fake.
The officers then whisked her away into a waiting van and demanded she pay 20,000 baht in exchange for her freedom, according to the investigation. When the woman told the officers she had no money, they told her to give them everything she had, which was 5,500 baht.
The five have been identified by Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) police as excise specialists Chayodom Chueathue and Adunphidet Kaiyasi, excise officers Natthaphon Phongsiri and Thiraphat Ratchakitcha, and driver Manot Phrommayan. They are attached to the excise-related misconduct prevention and suppression section of the Bangkok Area 5 Excise Office.