SURIN: A 20-year-old Lao national has been arrested in this northeastern province for producing and distributing child sexual abuse content online. Authorities say the man operated secret groups on a popular chat app, charging membership fees for access to explicit videos involving underage boys.
The suspect, identified as Chaipol, was apprehended at a resort in Muang district on Saturday by officers from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD). He is facing multiple charges, including possession and distribution of child pornography for profit, uploading obscene materials to computer systems, and illegal entry into Thailand.
The arrest followed an investigation into two suspicious accounts on the X platform under the names “ภานุวัฒน์73k” and “บานานา73k”, which promoted illegal videos and encouraged users to join private groups on his Line accounts for full access. Mr. Chaipol charged users 139 or 259 baht each for regular and premium membership.
According to Pol Col Chawinroj Pheemaratchatathamrong, who led the arrest team, undercover officers infiltrated the groups and found more than 500 members. Numerous clips featuring boys in sexually explicit content were shared within the groups. Authorities tracked the materials back to Mr Chaipol, who was hiding at the Surin resort.
During the raid, officers seized the suspect’s mobile phone, which contained dozens of illicit videos. They also confiscated clothing worn during filming, sex toys, and bank records. Further investigation revealed he had entered the country without valid documents.
Mr Chaipol reportedly confessed to being the administrator and creator of the content, stating that he had been producing and uploading the videos himself for nearly a year and had earned over 100,000 baht in the process.
He also told police he had recently contracted a serious illness from unprotected sexual activity while filming the content.