Four Thai immigration officers are facing arrest for allegedly kidnapping a Chinese national and his female interpreter and extorting thousands in cryptocurrencies from them.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that cited statements from deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn, the incident was revealed after the interpreter filed a police report, claiming that she and the Chinese man were abducted shortly after they had fallen victim to an immigration scam.
The report noted that the man had reached out to the Thai interpreter to renew his passport and visa at a government office in Bangkok but had his application rejected by officials.
$30K Extorted
Following the rejection, the duo returned home, where five men forced them into a car and drove around a neighborhood in Bangkok before taking the victims back to their residences. At the time of the drive, the suspects had forced the Chinese national to provide roughly 30,000 USDT (equivalent to USD $30,000)
The funds were handed to the suspects after the man called his son to transfer to them through the imToken app, a light cryptocurrency wallet.
Surachate said the suspects claimed to be innocent. He, however, noted that further investigation revealed four immigration police bureau officers were connected to the case. He added that arrest warrants had been issued against these officers, and the Chinese national had fled to his country.
Not New
The practice of criminals using violence and threats to force people into handing over their crypto assets is not new and is becoming increasingly common in recent times.
As reported by Coinfomania last year, a male British soldier was charged with kidnapping and robbery and stealing an Italian couple’s bitcoin (BTC) worth thousands of dollars.
Greg Simpson – the suspect – alongside three other accomplices, allegedly broke into the couple’s holiday home, threatening and physically assaulting the duo before forcing them to reveal the password to their crypto wallet containing thousands of dollars worth of BTC. The suspects stole over $405K from the victims’ wallets.
