Thai police have arrested five Indian nationals for allegedly kidnapping three fellow Indians, holding them captive for a week and demanding a ransom of 2.4 million baht (around ₹70 lakh) from their families.
The suspects were arrested at a hotel in Bangkok’s Khlong Tan area on Tuesday while they were allegedly waiting to board an outbound flight.
According to a report by the Bangkok Post, investigators believe the kidnappings were carried out on the instructions of a Pakistani national believed to be operating from Dubai.
The five arrested have been identified as Avtar Singh, 38, Jagjit Singh, 38, Rambalak Kumar, 24, Sukhbir Singh, 37, and Kulra Singh, 27. During questioning, the suspects allegedly told police they had been in contact with the suspected mastermind through a chat application for about a month before carrying out the abduction.
Victims lured with ‘cheap Thailand tour’
According to the report, the three Indian victims, aged between 23 and 26, were lured to Pattaya with the promise of a low-cost seven-day holiday package.
Instead, they were allegedly taken to a two-storey house in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district, where they were held captive and tortured while their families were pressured to pay a ransom worth 2.4 million baht.
Thai police rescued the three men on Monday after tracing the kidnappers to the house, the Bangkok Post reported.
When officers entered the property, they found the victims tied up inside two bedrooms with their hands, legs and mouths bound. Police also noticed bruises on their ankles that were consistent with repeated beatings.
Quick Reads
US may seize troops' cell phones in West Asia over Iran security threat, says report
Did Trump manipulate intelligence assessment to push election meddling claims? Ex-officials raise questions
The survivors later told investigators that they had been tortured every day during their week-long captivity. They alleged they were hung upside down, beaten on their ankles with hard objects, denied food and access to toilets, and forced to call their families in India to demand ransom money.
Dubai-based mastermind under investigation
According to the report, the five Indian suspects claimed they were acting on the instructions of a Pakistani national based in Dubai.
Police said the mastermind planned to receive the ransom through digital money transfers. The kidnappers were reportedly promised valuables and cash taken from the victims, along with airline tickets to leave Thailand after completing the crime.
Police Colonel Napatpong Kositsuriyamanee, Immigration Chief of Chon Buri province, said investigators found that the gang had used a telephone number registered in Dubai in an apparent attempt to conceal its operations.
“The victims’ relatives phoned Thai police to seek help,” Napatpong was quoted as saying by the report.
Arrested before they could flee
Authorities said the suspects managed to escape the Pattaya hideout on motorcycles shortly before police raided the property. However, investigators tracked them to a hotel in Bangkok, where they were arrested before they could board a flight out of Thailand.
Pattaya police chief Pol Col Anek Sathongyu later rewarded officers involved in the operation for arresting the suspects before they escaped the country.
The incident comes just days after Thailand restored visa-free entry for Indian passport holders to boost tourism. While police have not linked the policy change to the crime, the case has raised fresh concerns over criminal gangs using fake travel offers to target foreign visitors.
