NACC joins the operation to arrest a special task force collecting bribes from trucks in 11 target areas nationwide, finding more than 30 victims, with total damages of 120 million baht.
Mr. Niwatchai Kasem Mongkol, Secretary-General of the NACC, revealed that the NACC, together with Pol. Maj. Gen. Charoenkiat Pankaew, Deputy Commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, along with the Anti-Corruption Division and the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, went to the area to launch an operation to crack down on the network of state officials who demanded bribes from trucks. They searched 11 target areas nationwide to crack down on and arrest suspects under 3 arrest warrants from the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 3 in the provinces of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Chaiyaphum, Phetchabun, Nakhon Pathom, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok.
Officers were able to arrest 3 key suspects in the network: Mr. Noppadol, 57 years old, the leader of the special task force; Mr. Anek, 59 y
ears old; and Mr. Thongchai or Boy, 38 years old, a civilian who acted as a front to clear the air with truck operators, under the arrest warrants from the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 3 on charges of being officials involved in neglecting their duties through corruption. They are state officials who jointly performed or neglected to perform their duties improperly and supported officials who performed or neglected to perform their duties improperly. They also invited Mr. Pratin, 39 years old, the owner of the mule account, to acknowledge the charges. This
follows a group of truck operators filing a complaint after a group of officials from the Department of Highways and civilians collected bribes from cranes and overweight trucks in 2023. Officials therefore expedited their investigation into the facts before finding important information that this group of officials were officials from the Vehicle Weight Control Office (VWCO), an agency under the Department of Highways, which i
s responsible for investigating and arresting overweight trucks running on highways. However, they used their authority as the head of a special task force to collect monthly bribes from operators in exchange for not arresting or prosecuting them. Mr. Thongchai, a civilian, negotiated and demanded money on their behalf. If any operators did not comply, they would be severely cracked down on, affecting their businesses. This has been going on for a long time, from 2019 to 2020, with more than 30 victims and total damages of 120 million baht, and the bribe money circulating was no less than 1,400,000 baht per month, which was transferred to Mr. Pratin’s mule account. Before being transferred to the group of officers in charge of the operation in order,
the officers proceeded to investigate and collect evidence, interviewed more than 30 witnesses, and requested the court’s authority to issue an arrest warrant, leading to the arrest of the three suspects in Chaiyaphum and Phetchabun provinces. They are currently
being taken to search their offices at the Bang Pa-in and Wang Noi checkpoints in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya provinces to collect evidence to prove the guilt of the accused and to expand the investigation to find connections to those involved in the process in order to proceed with legal action.
Source: Thai News Agency