
BANGKOK — Immigration police arrested one member of a five-person gang who used firearms to kidnap two Chinese businessmen from their office in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang area. The gang robbed and demanded ransom totaling 12 million baht (approximately $358.5K) before attempting to flee the country. The arrest was made at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday evening.
Following coordination with Sutthisan Police Station, Police Major General Panthana Nuchanart, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration Bureau, ordered officers to input suspect data into the Immigration Bureau’s APPS system, which tracks suspect movements. This led to the arrest of Liu, a 43-year-old suspect, while he was checking in late on October 21.
He was attempting to leave Thailand on Sky Angkor Airlines flight ZA679 from Suvarnabhumi to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His passport indicated CEDEAO (Communauté Économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest), also known as ECOWAS nationality (Economic Community of West African States).
A search of Liu’s belongings revealed numerous plastic zip ties and cash, which were seized as evidence. He was handed over to Metropolitan Police Division 2 and Sutthisan Police Station investigators for questioning.
According to Sutthisan Police, the incident occurred on October 19 when victim Xie CQ was contacted by a Chinese man, with whom he had previously conducted digital currency exchanges, about exchanging cryptocurrency for 3.2 million baht in cash.
At the meeting time, five armed suspects entered the office of Anget Property (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Huai Khwang, asking for someone named “Michael,” who was Xie’s friend. They then threatened Xie CQ and Xie CF, seized the 3.2 million baht, and kidnapped both businessmen in two vehicles. They were taken to Nakhon Nayok Province, where additional ransom of $270,000 was demanded.


The gang later released both victims in the Kaset-Nawamin road area in Bangkok. The victims filed a police report at Sutthisan Police Station on October 20, with questioning lasting until 3:00 a.m. on October 21.
Police Colonel Pornthep Chalermkiat, Superintendent of Sutthisan Police Station, revealed that investigation showed the victims run a legitimate business as property agents for Chinese visitors to Thailand. They admitted paying the ransom due to death threats, making two payments. They claimed no prior knowledge of the perpetrators and were unsure if the incident was related to an ex-wife.
The suspects are believed to be one Chinese national and four other foreigners who used a vehicle with fake license plate. Police are continuing to pursue the remaining suspects.

Later on October 22, Sutthisan police officers arrested an additional suspect, Miss Du, age 37, a Chinese national who is the ex-wife of Mr. Xie and current wife of Liu Bu. She had exchanged her share of Thai baht for Chinese yuan at a currency exchange company in the Huai Khwang area.
Police investigation suspects she may be behind the incident, as she knew what kind of business her ex-husband ran and how much money he had. She may have persuaded her new husband’s group to participate in the crime.
Although Mr. Liu and Mrs. Du denied the charges, based on all the evidence, police charged Liu with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit illegal detention, illegal possession of firearms, unauthorized carrying of firearms in public places without reasonable cause, and conspiracy of two or more persons to commit armed home invasion.
As for Miss Du, she was charged with conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to commit illegal detention.
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