Organized Crime in Thailand Wanchai Roujanavong Translated by Vitaya Suriyawong & Lesley D. Junlakan Organized Crime in Thailand Copyright c 2006 Wanchai Roujanavong Wanchai Roujanavong hereby asserts and gives notice of his right to be identified as the author of this work, and Vitaya Suriyawong and Lesley D. Junlakan hereby give notice of their rights to be identified as the translators of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. ISBN : 974-8213-22-6 First edition, 2006 Published by Rumthai Press Co. Ltd. 111/93-6, Soi Samsen 28, Samsen Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300, Thailand. Table of Contents Preface i Chapter 1 Introduction to Organized Crime 1 Definition of çOrganized Criminal Groupé 1 Characteristics of Organized Crime 2 Chapter 2 Organized Crime in Thailand: the State and Impact of the Problem and Measures to Prevent and Combat the Phenomenon 9 The Problem of Organized Crime in Thailand 9 Domestic and Transnational Activities of Organized Criminal Groups 13 The Impact of Organized Crime on Thailand 20 Measures for the Prevention and Combat of Organized Crime in Thailand and their Effectiveness 34 Chapter 3 Measures to Prevent and Combat Organized Crime taken by the United Nations and Other Countries 47 Measures taken by the United Nations 49 Measures taken by the United States of America 65 Measures Adopted in Other Countries 92 Chapter 4 Measures for Strengthening the Potential to Prevent and Combat Organized Crime in Thailand 121 Specific Laws to Prevent and Combat Organized Crime 121 Measures to Protect Witnesses and Victims 132 The Interception of Communication and the Use of Other Tools to Obtain Evidence 135 The Use of Plea Bargaining to Lead to the Principal Instigators 141 The Use of Undercover Agents and Their Protection 145 Measures for Controlled Delivery of Illegal Items 147 The Use of Fines to Punish Offences Committed by Organized Criminal Groups 149 Measures to Penalize Legal Persons Committing Crime 151 Taxation Measures to Penalize Organized Criminal Groups 152 Measures for Mutual Legal Assistance 154 Extradition Measures 157 Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations 165 Conclusion 165 Recommendations 174 Bibliography 183 United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime 191 Preface Thailand is currently afflicted by a range of social problems, among which two stand out as being more seriously detrimental than others: corruption and organized crime. It has even been said that if solutions could be found to these two problems, the rest could be easily dealt with. This is because corruption and organized crime impede the effectiveness of law enforcement and hinder national development. This book aims to examine the problems involving organized crime in Thailand, including its characteristics, sphere of influence, activities and development, as well as illustrating the severe impact it has had over several decades on Thai i society, economy, politics and national security. It also analyzes the limitations and weaknesses of Thai laws and policies, resulting in the ineffectiveness of law enforcement in dealing with both domestic and transnational organized crime. By detailed analysis of measures in other countries and, in particular, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, it also makes recommendations as to how these laws should be modified and improved. The book is based on the authorûs National Defence College thesis, which was designated the Excellent Research Paper of the Year 2003 by the National Defence Council. Much crucial information is drawn from the çLegal Development of the Prevention and Suppression of Transnational Organized Crimeé research project, supported by the Thailand Research Fund and the American Embassyûs Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS), of which the author was the project manager: I am grateful to all the researchers involved. I would like to thank Lesley D. Junlakan and Vitaya Suriyawong for translating the original Thai version into English and, additionally, for Ms. Junlakanûs assistance as linguistic editor. My thanks also to Piyathida Jermhansa, Brian Pearce, and Yossawan Boriboothana for their time spent in reading the manuscript and making valuable suggestions and comments: without their contribution, this book could not have been published. I would also like to express my gratitude to the NAS for supporting the translation and publication of this book. Finally, it is my sincere hope that this book will increase public awareness and understanding of organized crime in Thailand and contribute to the development of effective measures to fight against it. Wanchai Roujanavong 26 April 2006 ii Chapter 1 Introduction to Organized Crime Definition of çOrganized Criminal Groupé Until the end of 2000, although there were both legal definitions of the term çorganized criminal groupé and its practical application, such interpretations were extremely diverse, based on both individual understanding of the term and the situation in and experience of different countries. Where a legal definition was lacking, countries interpreted the term in different ways, leading to confusion among law enforcement officials. This was especially apparent in the field of international cooperation against organized crime, resulting in problems as to who could or could not be defined as members of organized criminal groups.1 The United Nations, Hundreds of illegal weapons were confiscated by the police after a major operation to seize illegal weapons possessed by organized criminal groups. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the çThai Rathé Newspaper) ORGANIZED CRIME IN THAILAND 2 by Wanchai Roujanavong perceiving the confusion, convened meetings of Member States between 1999 and 2000 in order to draw up a Convention to deal with transnational organized crime which was signed in December 2000.2 The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime sets out the following definition: çOrganized criminal group shall mean a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.é3 In addition, the Convention defines the meaning of çserious crimeé as çconduct constituting an offence punishable by a maximum deprivation of liberty of at least four years or a more serious penaltyé and a çstructured groupé as ça group that is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of an offence and that does not need to have formally defined roles for its members, continuity of its membership or a developed structure.é4 The definitions provided in the Convention created a universal definition of organized crime. Due to its status as an international law, Member States that have signed and ratified the Convention have an obligation to apply its terms and definitions in their own countries. As of July 2006, one hundred and forty-seven countries, including Thailand, are signatories to the Convention and one hundred and twenty-two countries have ratified the Convention,5 and this has resulted in the dissipation of the previous confusion and greater clarification of the definition of çorganized criminal groupé, especially in its international application, with intensified global cooperation to prevent and combat this phenomenon. Characteristics of Organized Crime Organized crime characteristically involves the cooperation of members to plan and carry out illegal or unlawful activities. Organized criminal groups have a structure for committing crimes, with networking, division of ORGANIZED CRIME IN THAILAND by Wanchai Roujanavong 3 duties, imposition of secrecy and the use of influence through money or force in order to evade the attention of the police. In addition, influence is used to threaten or to kill witnesses, including bribing officials of all levels, who thus become accessories to the crime and enable the criminals to go unpunished.6 1. Historical Organized Criminal Groups Organized crime is an historical phenomenon, with the following groups being particularly noteworthy: 1.1 Angyee: A Thai criminal group committing unlawful secret activities, established in the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910). 1.2 Mafia: An organized criminal group assuming various forms, which originated in Sicily, Italy, and spread to the United States. 1.3 Yakuza: A group with a long history in Japan, which has adapted itself into its modern form to commit organized crime. 1.4 Triads: An historical group in China, which originated as a society opposed to the Manchu and developed into a criminal syndicate. Nowadays, it has separated into various groups, operating in Hong Kong, Macau, China and other Asian countries, and known under various names, for example, 14K. 2. Contemporary Organized Criminal Groups Contemporary organized criminal groups include the following prominent examples: 2.1 The Colombia Cartel: This is a powerful, influential group, able to fight against the government, producing and trafficking cocaine worldwide, especially to the United States of America. 2.2 Russian Organized Criminal Groups: Existing historically, these have become more socially harmful since the disintegration of the USSR. The subsequent reduction in the armed forces