BANGKOK, Thailand – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered tougher nationwide action against evolving criminal networks, targeting identity fraud, nominee businesses, scams, illegal firearms, narcotics, and money laundering. At a multiagency briefing at Government House on August 25, Anutin directed authorities to share intelligence, trace financial flows, and pursue those behind criminal operations rather than limiting investigations to frontline offenders.
The government set three enforcement priorities: closing loopholes in the civil registration system that allow fraudulent acquisition or misuse of legal status; cracking down on nominee businesses while streamlining procedures for legitimate operators; and intercepting illegal firearms and drugs before they reach communities. Authorities have already reported arrests, seizures of weapons and narcotics, recovery of state land, and the freezing or confiscation of assets linked to suspected offenses.
Anutin instructed agencies to act on evidence and conduct regardless of an offender’s status or influence, with no protection for state officials implicated in criminal activity. The policy applies equally to Thai offenders and foreign nationals, while police, administrative authorities, the Department of Special Investigation, and anti-corruption agencies have been directed to use technology and shared data to identify wider networks and their organizers.
Enforcement will extend beyond arrests to tracing and confiscating criminal proceeds. The government plans to expedite legal procedures so eligible seized assets can be auctioned, with proceeds linked to victims’ losses returned proportionately to those who were defrauded or otherwise harmed before any remainder becomes state revenue. Authorities have been instructed to maintain sustained pressure on scammers, drug networks, and organized crime while protecting public safety and preventing the exploitation of government systems. (NNT)
