A group of Thai police officers were arrested for allegedly extorting cryptocurrency from a foreign national.
The Case:
A Chinese-Vanuatu expat named Sai reported that a group of police officers raided his home claiming to have a search warrant. They accused him of being involved in a fake passport case and threatened to charge him with illegal employment.
Sai couldn’t understand Thai, so he trusted the officers’ authority and allowed them to search his house. They seized his phone and computer and demanded a huge bribe to drop the charges.
The Extortion:
The cops initially demanded 300 million Thai baht (about $8.5 million USD) or 10 million USDT (a cryptocurrency). When Sai refused, they lowered the price to 10 million baht, but he still couldn’t afford it.
Eventually, he agreed to pay $165,000 in cryptocurrency to get his family released. He transferred the money to the digital wallet of one of the interpreters involved in the scheme.
The Investigation:
Sai later hired a lawyer who discovered that the original charges against him were fake. He reported the incident to the police, leading to the arrest of seven officers. Three others surrendered, and two interpreters are still on the run.
This case highlights the serious issue of corruption within law enforcement and the increasing use of cryptocurrency in criminal activities.
