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Mafia in khaki prey on bus passengers
Tourists, migrants searched, held, forced to part with money to secure own release
Bangkok Post
By Amornrat Mahitthirook Manop Thip-osod
Ekamai and Southern bus terminals are known as hunting grounds for ''mafia in khaki'' who prey on foreign travellers and illegal aliens. The mafia extort money from foreign tourists and illegal migrant workers who lack proper immigration documents. They arrest the migrants, and demand money in return for their release from custody, say bus terminal officials and witnesses.
The Transport Co, operator of the terminals, admits the problem is rampant at the state-run bus terminals.
An official at the Southern bus terminal said: ''Mafia extortionists have been roaming the terminal for almost two decades. The practice is blatant and people working at the terminal, including officials and shopkeepers, know about it.''
The mafia, claiming to be policemen, work in gangs, along with bus staff, taxi and van drivers who tip off the extortionists about the arrival of their targets, mostly Burmese and Lao workers travelling from Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi, Ranong, and Songkhla.
The ''mafia in khaki'' approach the workers, search their belongings and ask for immigration documents. Any illegal immigrants are told they must pay at least 5,000 baht to walk free.
Anyone without money or valuables is forced to seek refunds for their tickets to get cash, or face being locked up until friends or relatives find money to pay the fines.
The terminal official said the gangsters claim to be officers from Taling Chan police station, the 191 emergency unit or police from other areas.
They work in uniforms or plain clothes, often in the dark, from evening until 4am.
A shopkeeper at the bus terminal, located on Pinklao road, said no one dare interfere with the extortionists for fear of retribution.
The practice differs at the Ekamai terminal for east-bound buses on Sukhumvit road.
An Ekamai employee said officers claiming to be officers from Thong Lor police station had boarded buses to accost foreigners for the past seven months. They scattered their belongings in drug searches. If any drugs were found, money changes hands.
''The practice hurts the country's tourism, especially when innocent foreign travellers become victims of intimidation by people claiming to be state officers,'' the employee said.
More frequent police searches might stem from heightened security to prevent terrorism, he said. But that might also be the work of extortionists.
He said many bus operators are upset because the searches delay departure schedules.
''The mafia has escaped the hand of the law,'' the employee said, citing the recent closure of a terminal's radio station after it alerted high-level terminal officers to look into the mafia activities.
Wuthichart Kalayanamitr, acting president of the Transport Co, admitted mafia extortionists are rampant.
He said the Crime Suppression Division had been asked to patrol the Southern terminal and crack down on the mafia.
As a precaution, warnings have been issued on the public address system and more closed-circuit cameras will be installed, he said.
Renovation is under way at the Southern terminal to seal off the terminal area, so it is accessible only by passengers and officials, he added.
Metropolitan Police Bureau spokesman Supisal Pakdinarunat said police patrols and undercover agents have been sent to investigate, especially cases involving possible police misconduct.
Pol Col Supisal advised victims and witnesses to contact the police complaint centre, the Prime Minister's Office hotline or the media.
He also urged victims to file charges against the gangsters.
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