Arrest warrants have been issued for four people, including a half-brother of a well-known politician, in connection with the smuggling of pork worth billions of baht.
The Criminal Court approved the warrants based on evidence gathered by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to support charges of tax evasion, Customs Act violations related to the import of animals and carcasses, money laundering and related offences.
DSI officers on Thursday morning raided five locations in Bangkok, including private shipping firms and cold-storage facilities, to seize crucial evidence, said Pol Maj Gen Nathapol Ditsayatham, head investigator on the case.
A source familiar with the case said the four suspects were Li Shengjiao, alias “Hia Kao” (Brother Kao) and three other associates: Yang Ya Sung, Mr Li’s son Karin Piyapornpaiboon, and Nawaporn Chaowai, who was in charge of accounting for Mr Li.
Mr Li is said to be the half-brother of a well-known politician and chairman of a trade association. That person’s name was not disclosed.
Earlier, the DSI had interrogated four key witnesses involved in the smuggling of more than 10,000 shipping containers of pork worth about 6-7 billion baht.
Investigators armed with warrants searched a company, as well as the residence of Mr Li on Somdet Prachao Taksin Road in Thon Buri district on Thursday morning, said Pol Capt Charnnarong Thapsarn, deputy director of the DSI special operations division.
Mr Li’s wife let the investigators in to search the premises. Documents and other crucial evidence found in the house were being examined, said Pol Capt Charnnarong.
A source said Mr Li left Thailand on Dec 30.
Among the items found during the search were photos of Mr Li with senior civil servants from many agencies, high-ranking police, politicians and former cabinet ministers.
One photograph shows him receiving a plaque of honour from Metropolitan Police Division 9 for helping pay for renovations to a multi-purpose meeting room at the division in September 2021.
Large-scale smuggling of pork has caused prices to collapse in the domestic market, hurting the incomes of pig farmers across the country.
A local shortage that began in 2022 after an outbreak of African swine fever prompted some companies to illegally import pork to cash in on high demand.
The seizure of 161 shipping containers holding 4,025 tonnes of pork at Laem Chabang Port in mid-2023 showed the huge scale of the operation and led to the DSI investigation.
Ministry of Agriculture officials believe the illegal shipments originated from supermarkets in Brazil and some countries in Europe, where regulations require frozen meat to be destroyed after a year in storage.
Instead of being destroyed, the “expired” pork was shipped to be sold in developing countries, including Thailand.
DSI officers raid a company in Bang Khuntian district of Bangkok on Thursday to arrest two people wanted on warrants and find possible evidence about the smuggling of pork and chicken feet. (Photo: Department of Special Investigation)