1.2 Overview of the TOC situation in Thailand

Overview of the TOC situation in Thailand

Although the broad definition of TOC includes nearly all profit-motivated crimes with an international connection, in Thailand, TOC tends to involve small, flexibly structured groups which often act as a chain of brokers for other well-established criminal networks. Foreign groups typically act as masterminds and their Thai counterparts act as local facilitators in moving people and things in and out of the country.

Overall, Thailand has an extensive legal framework that is consistent with international standards for fighting TOC. Thailand is a party to UNTOC, and it also has several domestic laws concerning the combating of TOC. Thai stakeholders have demonstrated awareness about the methods used by transnational criminal organizations and have made inroads in working with other states to stop TOC. In addition, Thai law enforcement generally also has the capacity and skill-sets required to conduct longterm, clandestine and complex investigations.

However, several factors such as Thailand’s flourishing economy, high financial returns for illegal activity, lax tourism policies, law enforcement gaps and limited public awareness, make Thailand attractive to TOC. Thus, as is the case also with other states, Thailand faces rapidly evolving criminal groups, which makes it more important for the country to efficiently scale its legislative, judicial, social and law enforcement response to TOC. In this regard, additional resources and public awareness campaigns are necessary to build Thailand’s capacity to address TOC. Thus, Thai stakeholders have expressed a desire for closer cooperation with other countries, particularly with Thailand’s ASEAN neighbours, which will bolster Thailand’s ability to track and apprehend transnational offenders and bring them to justice.

The stakeholders interviewed for the purpose of this study identified drug and trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, money laundering and counterfeiting as the most prevalent forms of TOC in Thailand. In their view, recently the amount of environmental crimes has also increased (this category includes also trafficking in protected wildlife and timber), and such crimes often involve large sums of money. Interviewees also noted that financial crimes are also increasing, while illicit trade in firearms and cultural property have apparently declined sharply over the last two decades.

Making progress in combating TOC in Thailand requires that policymakers have a broader understanding of the subject matter. Our assessment indicates that TOC is on the rise across the region (An extensive assessment of qualitative trends is presented in Chapter 2). Policymakers should be aware of nine emerging trends:

1. Trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants are characterized by more violence and by an expansion in activity.

2. Offenders are increasingly leveraging information and communication technologies in order to commit crimes, making offences harder to detect. Organized criminal groups are using websites and social media to facilitate crime.

3. Trafficking routes are proliferating and becoming more complex. For instance, some illegal items from Africa are being diverted to Europe before being delivered to Thailand in order to make the shipment appear less suspicious. Traffickers tend to avoid the main Thai airports and maritime borders.

4. Trafficking methods are diversifying. Traffickers use tactics such as converting items into ordinary products, using hidden packages or hidden compartments, creating special clothing, employing double bags and even concealing items within the human body. Individuals are increasingly being forced or lured into carrying some contraband, while other shipments are sent via ordinary mail and delivery services. Human traffickers are finding new ways to conceal their operations, for example, by moving their victims through the use of public transportation or group tours.

5. Organized criminal groups have seemingly loose hierarchies in Thailand, where offenders tend to use multiple ‘hubs’ and networks of individual brokers, making them harder to detect.

6. Different criminal groups are working together more frequently. Thai criminal justice agencies have identified new collaborations for example between drug dealers and wildlife traffickers, as well as situations where organized crime finances terrorism.

7. Offenders are increasingly finding safe, affordable and legal migration channels. The proliferation of regional trade agreements has made it easier for offenders and victims from other ASEAN member states to enter Thailand legally and then overstay their visas.

8. New varieties of drugs and protected wildlife from other regions have appeared, along with established products and routes, in the Thai illicit market, such as cocaine and crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) from Western Africa and the Middle East.

9. Counterfeiting techniques have evolved rapidly, making counterfeit products harder to detect.

The Most Prevalent Organized Crimes As Identified by the Stakeholders3

Highest incidence Medium/high incidence Lower incidence

Drugs and trafficking in persons are the forms of TOC in Thailand with the highest incidence, followed by the smuggling of migrants, money laundering and counterfeiting. Wildlife and timber trafficking have rapidly emerged as some of the most profitable forms of TOC in the country. Trafficking in firearms, trafficking in stolen and second-hand vehicles, investment frauds, trafficking in hazardous waste and chemicals, and document forgery are less common. It is probable that trafficking in cultural property exists in Thailand, although very few cases have been reported.

3 The stakeholders interviewed based their answers on a scale of high, medium and low incidence, using as a point of reference specific offences that have been previously mentioned in the interview as forms of organized crime in Thailand.

Organized Crime in Thailand

Trafficking Routes

Thailand’s central location makes it attractive to investors, since it is located centrally to most ASEAN member states, bordering Myanmar to the west, Cambodia and Lao PDR to the east, and Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore to the south. This makes Thailand a regional transportation hub. Moreover, its flourishing economy offers growing job opportunities, highly developed infrastructure and services, and a favourable business environment.

Nonetheless, the same factors that promote foreign investment and facilitate movement inside and outside the country also make Thailand a strategic location for organized criminal enterprises and for global trafficking routes. As the table below demonstrates, Thailand is most often a transit or destination country for TOC. The dark colour indicates which crimes the stakeholders have indicated as most often involving Thailand as a transit or destination country; the light colour designates less common incidence in the three respective categories. Lack of colour indicates that the stakeholders interviewed have not noted any incidents.

CRIME

Drug trafficking Trafficking in persons The smuggling of migrants Money laundering Counterfeiting Wildlife and timber trafficking Firearms trafficking Trafficking in stolen and used vehicles Investment frauds via call centres Trafficking in cultural property Trafficking in hazardous waste and chemicals Document forgery

ORIGIN TRANSIT DESTINATION