Two Singaporeans busted in Thailand for running cross-border vice ring
SINGAPORE, June 20 — Two Singaporean men believed to be key figures in a transnational vice syndicate have been arrested in Thailand following a joint operation between the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Royal Thai Police (RTP).
According to Channel News Asia, a Thai national was also detained in the cross-border crackdown on June 17.
Investigations into the criminal group began in 2023, after more than 70 vice workers arrested in Singapore were linked to the same network.
'Investigations against the vice workers established useful information against the vice syndicate,' SPF said in a statement.
The arrests followed close cooperation between the SPF's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Technology Crime Suppression Division of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). Shared intelligence allowed authorities to identify the three suspects.
The 38-year-old Singaporean allegedly used a 'complex network of bank accounts' to transfer prostitution proceeds from Singapore to Thailand.
The second Singaporean, aged 36, is believed to have supported the syndicate's cross-border operations.
The men were arrested under the Thai Criminal Code. Assets worth more than 20 million baht (RM2.4 million), including cash, two condos, and various digital devices, were seized by Thai officers.
In Singapore, more than S$1.26 million in suspected criminal proceeds was frozen from the older suspect's bank accounts.
Investigations are ongoing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Prisons dept was okay with Najib filing report, says Shafee
Lawyer Shafee Abdullah said the prisons department needed permission from the home minister for Najib Razak to file a police report in person. KUALA LUMPUR : Najib Razak's lawyer claims that the prisons department would have allowed the former prime minister to file a police report over the royal addendum issue if home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had given permission. However, Shafee Abdullah said that multiple letters for permission from the minister went unanswered, forcing him to help lodge the report on behalf of his client. 'The prison authorities are generous, they had no objections to Najib filing a report himself. Unfortunately, they needed permission from their superior, which is the home minister. 'We wrote to him multiple times but there was no reply,' he told a press conference at the lobby of the court complex here today. Earlier this week, Shafee lodged a police report against former attorney-general Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh for allegedly 'deliberately misleading' the High Court that the royal addendum was speculative and based on hearsay evidence. He lodged the report at the Dang Wangi police headquarters. Shafee claimed that Terrirudin had committed an offence under Section 209 of the Penal Code, which relates to dishonestly making a false claim before a court. He also accused the ex-AG of committing an offence under Section 204 of the Penal Code by hiding a document with the intention of preventing it from being used as evidence in court. Last month, Najib filed an application to initiate contempt proceedings against Terrirudin, who is now a Federal Court judge. His legal team claimed that Terrirudin, while serving as the AG, failed to reveal the former king's royal addendum allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest. During a hearing in January, Shafee told the Court of Appeal that the addendum was sent by the Pahang palace to Terrirudin on Jan 29, 2024.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Najib's prosecutors must answer for delay in evidence, says Rafizi
Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli said from his experience studying and exposing the scandal, the misappropriation of money involving SRC International Sdn Bhd has a clear money trail. PETALING JAYA : Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli today called on the prosecutors in Najib Razak's RM27 million money laundering case to explain why it was taking them so long to prepare the necessary evidence. In a statement, the Pandan MP said Malaysians did not want to see the case end merely because of the prosecutors' failure to prepare evidence, given its connection with the SRC International Sdn Bhd scandal. 'I do not understand why the prosecution took so long (since 2019) to prepare the documents necessary for the case. 'From my experience studying and exposing the 1MDB and SRC scandal before this, the misappropriation (of money) involving SRC has a clear money trail,' he said. Earlier in the High Court, Najib was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in the case involving SRC. Justice K Muniandy said there was nothing to show that the prosecution would be able to proceed with the case for the time being, or proceed within a reasonable time. He also said that in the six years since the case was brought against Najib in 2019, it had seen no pursuit of witness testimony, only a plethora of postponements, indicating that the prosecution was not ready. 'Once the accused is charged in court, the charge cannot be hanging over his head for an indeterminate or indefinite period. That would be harsh and illegal,' he said. The decision followed a submission last week by Najib's counsel Shafee Abdullah that it was unfair for his client to wait indefinitely for a fixed trial date, as the prosecution was unable to provide a timeline to gather the exhibits used in the previous SRC trial. Rafizi said he respected Najib's right to request a DNAA, but urged the prosecution to confirm that the Attorney-General's Chambers would refile charges against the former prime minister as soon as possible. 'As an MP, I will follow developments in this case closely to ensure that it does not slip from the public eye,' he said.
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Former Selangor, KL police chiefs Hussein Omar Khan and Rusdi Isa to lead narcotics and commercial crimes investigation depts
KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has announced the promotion and transfer of eight senior officers, including four state police chiefs, effective July 21. In a statement today, PDRM secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Abdullah said the changes include Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, who has been appointed director of the Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID). Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa has been named director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, while Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad will assume the role of director of the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department, both at Bukit Aman. Meanwhile, Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh has been appointed deputy director of Internal Security and Public Order (Operations/Movements) at the Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department. Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa was named director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department. —Picture by Raymond Manuel Kamaruzaman added that Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Gilberd Philip Layang, currently the deputy director (Technical/Operations) of the Bukit Aman Logistics and Technology Department (LTD), has been promoted to director of the department, with the acting rank of Commissioner of Police (CP). Kamaruzaman added that senior assistant commissioner (SAC) Redzuan Abd Hamid, head of the Telecommunications and Information Systems Division (Technical/Operations) at the Bukit Aman LTD, has been appointed deputy director (Technical/Operations) of the same department, with the acting rank of DCP. Meanwhile, SAC Mohd Rozi Jidin, head of Narcotics (Intelligence/International Liaison) at the Bukit Aman NCID, has been appointed deputy director (Enforcement/Traffic Control/Summons Management) of the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department, with the acting rank of DCP. He added that another transfer involves assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Nordin Md Nor, Information Technology Officer at the Telecommunications and Information Systems Division (Technical/Operations), Bukit Aman LTD, who has been appointed Head of the same division, with the acting rank of SAC. — Bernama
