A crime-busting activist showed up at Royal Thai Police headquarters on Monday and accused many officers, including a former national police chief, of controlling online gambling websites active in Thailand.
Achariya Ruangrattanapong displayed a banner listing the names of police officers he alleged were involved in the illegal online gambling business. Police persuaded him not to attach the poster to the fence outside the police head office.
Inside the police compound, in Pathumwan district, Mr Achariya said his banner had the names of 16 of the 100 police officers he planned to expose. He suspected them all of involvement in online gambling.
He alleged that a former national police chief supervised about 70% of the gambling websites operating in Thailand, through many police lieutenant generals. Some of the websites were operated by Chinese nationals, Mr Achariya said.
He also alleged that a football club in the North was used to launder gambling-related money, and that its directors included police officers and gambling website operators.
His allegations follow revelations by whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit, who also alleged that senior police officers were involved in the gambling networks.
Chuvit Kamolvisit was furious and knocked things off shelves in a Cannabis store which rented a space in his hotel after a recent police inspection of the place. (Video by Pornprom Satrabhaya)
Last week a police station chief in Chon Buri province was transferred to an inactive post pending investigation into his alleged financial link to the Saipay69 gambling website.
