Eight people, including four police and one ranger, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping seven Chinese men and extorting from them 2 million baht.
Local reports say the seven managed to send the location of the resort in Ubon Ratchathani's Phibun Mangsahan district where they were being held to relatives via a mobile phone.
The victims claimed they were abducted by three officers from the Special Branch Bureau, one officer from the Border Patrol Police, one paramilitary ranger and three civilians, one of whom was a Myanmar national. They said they were taken from Chanuman district in Amnat Charoen and forced to contact their relatives to ask for 2 million baht in exchange for their release.
After learning about the abduction, the victims' relatives, who were in Laos at the time, contacted Thai police for help, which prompted police in Phibun Mangsahan to deploy a rescue team. Police stormed the resort, rescued the victims and caught a total of eight suspects. Police say the victims had been lured from Laos by a false promise of lucrative jobs in Thailand. Upon arrival, the abductors threatened them, demanding a 2-million-baht ransom from the abductees' families.
Charges were filed against the Chinese nationals for illegal entry into Thailand, while the suspected abductors face charges of abuse of authority and misconduct. Media access to the station was restricted, amid attempts to prevent the suspects, particularly the officials, from being photographed.