2 Singaporeans among 3 arrested in Thailand in joint anti-vice sweep
Investigations began in 2023 into the vice syndicate, which allegedly recruited foreign women and sent them to Singapore to work as vice workers. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
SINGAPORE - Two Singaporean men were among three arrested in Thailand for their alleged involvement in operating a transnational vice syndicate, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on June 19.
The Singaporean suspects, aged 36 and 38, as well as a 50-year-old Thai man , were arrested on June 17 in a cross-border operation with the Royal Thai Police (RTP).
Assets worth more than 20 million Thai baht (S$790,600), comprising cash in bank accounts and two condominium units, together with laptops, mobile phones, hard drives, bank cards and SIM cards, were also seized by the RTP when the trio was arrested on June 17 .
The SPF also froze more than $1.26 million of suspected criminal proceeds from the Singapore bank accounts of the 38-year-old man.
According to a June 18 report from Thai news website Khaosod English, one of the Singaporean men was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, having arrived on a flight from Singapore.
The Thai police had acted on information of the man's arrival, and the man had multiple arrest warrants, according to the news outlet.
The Straits Times has learned that the 38-year-old Singaporean was arrested at the airport, while the 36-year-old man was arrested at his Thai residence.
The cross-border anti-vice operation was executed in Thailand by the Royal Thai Police.
PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Investigations began in 2023 into the vice syndicate, which allegedly recruited foreign women and sent them to Singapore to work as vice workers, SPF said .
At least 76 vice workers, who were allegedly managed by the syndicate, were arrested f rom April 2023 to May 2025 , and the resulting investigations 'established useful information' against the syndicate, SPF added.
The identities of the three suspects were established after police o fficers from Thailand and Singapore shared their findings on the syndicate.
The 38-year-old man allegedly used a complex network of bank accounts to remit the prostitution earnings of the vice workers from Singapore to Thailand, while the 36-year-old man allegedly supported the syndicate in the transnational vice operations, said the Singapore police.
Investigations are ongoing.
Photos from past anti-vice ops related to the syndicate.
PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
In the statement, Singapore's Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Yeo Yee Chuan stressed the importance of cooperation in areas such as information sharing, operations and investigations, in combating transnational syndicated crime.
'The SPF is committed to working closely with our regional partners, and we thank the RTP for their invaluable collaboration in dismantling this criminal network to prevent the exploitation of women, stem the scourge of transnational crimes and take affirmative actions against the laundering of criminal proceeds,' said SAC Yeo, who is the deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Department.
Thailand's Police Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej added: 'The dedication and professionalism of the SPF and RTP officers were instrumental in the successful cross-border operational collaboration which led to the apprehension of the transnational criminal syndicate.'
Additional reporting by Lok Jian Wen
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