PATTAYA, Thailand – Three massage shop employees have filed police complaints after allegedly being abducted by three men posing as police officers, forced into a “safe house,” threatened with fabricated drug charges and extorted for money before being released. The victims, aged 33, 36 and 40, spoke to the media on Monday night, August 3, while presenting CCTV footage they say captured the suspects entering a massage shop in Soi Chaloem Phrakiat 25 off Pattaya Third Road in Nongprue.
According to the victims, CCTV footage recorded at around 8.17 a.m. showed two men arriving on a white-and-blue Honda Wave motorcycle. One, wearing an orange motorcycle taxi vest, led two other men into the shop. The others were dressed in black jackets, with one carrying what appeared to be a stun baton while another wore a full-face helmet. The victims alleged the three men identified themselves as police investigators conducting a search for drugs and other illegal items. Although nothing illegal was found, the suspects allegedly claimed the victims needed to undergo drug testing before forcing them onto motorcycles and taking them to a room in Soi Jomtien Beach 12, which they described as a “safe house.”
Once there, the victims said they found a former female employee of the massage shop who had allegedly been detained by the same group in early July before later resigning. They believe she may have provided information about the business to the suspects. The victims further alleged that one of the men produced methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, attempted to force them to use the drugs and then consumed the drugs himself after they refused. The group allegedly threatened to frame the victims in drug cases unless they agreed to work as informants targeting foreign nationals. The suspects reportedly displayed photographs of a foreign man on a mobile phone and demanded the victims help lure him into a drug operation. When the victims refused, the suspects allegedly demanded 5,000 baht each for their release before reducing the amount to 3,000 baht after being told they had no money.
According to the complaint, the suspects confiscated the victims’ mobile phones and forced them to call relatives and friends on speakerphone to borrow money, directing the funds to bank accounts specified by the group. Police documents show transfers totaling 7,500 baht were made to two PromptPay accounts before the victims were released. The victims also claimed they were separated into different rooms while being guarded and that, even after the money had been transferred, the suspects insisted at least one of them remain to work for the group.
One victim said they managed to exchange LINE contact details with one of the suspects by pretending to agree to provide information in the future. The victims later presented chat messages they claim show the suspect offering two grams of methamphetamine as payment for information.
Patcharee, the 50-year-old owner of the massage shop, said she was deeply frightened after learning the suspects had also asked where she lived. She said the incident had heightened fears following the recent high-profile murders in Huai Yai, where suspects allegedly impersonated police before abducting Russian tourists and members of a Thai family. She urged authorities to quickly identify and arrest those responsible before similar crimes occur again.
The victims have filed formal complaints with investigators at Pattaya City Police Station. Police said they have contacted a man identified by the victims as “Ice,” who allegedly denied involvement and claimed he had only been asked to assist, believing one of the men involved was an actual police officer. Investigators later summoned him for questioning, but he failed to appear. Authorities are continuing to examine CCTV footage, financial transactions and witness statements as they work to identify and apprehend the remaining suspects.
