Kidnapped in Bangkok: Chinese tourists victim to a CAD 95,000 ransom scam
Five Chinese tourists were kidnapped from a hotel in the capital of Thailand. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of over CAD 95,000 (2.5 million Thai baht).
This story might sound like it's straight out of a crime movie, but it happened. At the end of April 2024, an organized criminal group kidnapped five tourists from China.
The scammers pretended to be police officers
As reported by The Nation, on April 25, a group of men posing as police officers entered the hotel room where the tourists were staying. The unsuspecting hotel guests were accused of violating local law.
The scammers made the tourists believe they were being taken to the station for further investigation. Hotel camera footage captured the men escorting them out of the facility and driving away in four cars.
The officers investigating the case found that the scammers demanded the tourists transfer money to a bank account totalling over CAD 95,000 (2.5 million Thai baht).
After receiving the ransom, the scammers released the tourists
Fearing detention and possibly torture, the tourists complied and transferred the demanded amount to the kidnappers. They were then released. The kidnapped tourists reported the incident to the police, leading to the identification and arrest of the fraudsters. A total of ten people were arrested.
Among those arrested were a police sergeant who had previously worked in the police communication center for crisis situations and the chief investigator in Bangkok, who was dismissed from service in 2023. One member of the criminal group remains at large.
