2.9 Trafficking in Cultural Property

2.9

Trafficking in Cultural Property

International definition of trafficking in cultural property:

“The import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property effected contrary to the provisions adopted under this Convention by the States Parties thereto, shall be illicit” (UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970, Article 3).

“The import and export of movable cultural property (i) which has been stolen in the other State Party or (ii) which has been illicitly exported from the other State Party” (United Nations Model treaty for the prevention of crimes that infringe on the cultural heritage of peoples in the form of movable property, Article 4, Paragraph 4(a)).

Applicable domestic laws in Thailand:

Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and Natural Museums of 1961 as amended in 1992.

Thailand is no longer a key transit country for the trafficking of cultural property, which once flooded the country during the Cambodian civil war (ca. 1970-1975). Recent academic research indicates that the smuggling of Cambodian antiquities into Thailand persists and that Bangkok (together with Singapore and Hong Kong) remains a key regional hub for art crimes,216 but the decrease in illegal transactions is still notable. Only a few cases have been reported over the last two years. However, these rare cases highlighted an emerging trend: Thailand as an origin country for cultural property rather than a transit country.

Cultural property trafficked from Thailand include Buddha statues and heads, parts of stone castles, stone carvings of dancing girls and other traditional statues. The research literature217 and practitioners’ reports218 indicate that the transnational journey of Thai art objects often ends in the United States. Investigations conducted by the Thai police in the mid-2000s indicate that illegal art dealing on the Internet is also prevalent.219

216 Gruber, S. (2014). Perspectives on the Investigation, Prosecution and Prevention of Art Crime in Asia. University of Hong Kong, Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Occasional Paper, 26, 10-11. Retrieved from http://www.law.hku.hk/ccpl/pub/occasionalpapers/index.html 217 Brodie, N. (2005, Spring). In the News: the rest of Asia, in Culture Without Context: The Newsletter of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, 16, 17. Retrieved from http://traffickingculture.org/app/uploads/2012/07/CWC-16.pdf 218 Na NakornPhanom, S. (2014). Legal and Operational Tools for Facilitating the Restitution of Cultural Objects: Case study from Thailand. Presentation at the Sub-regional Symposium for the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in South East Asia. Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/culture/1970_symposium_SEA/Thailand_Case_Study_21Nov.pdf 219 Brodie, N. (2005, Spring). In the News: the rest of Asia, in Culture Without Context: The Newsletter of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, 16, 17. Retrieved from http://traffickingculture.org/app/uploads/2012/07/CWC-16.pdf

In 1961 Thailand enacted the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and Natural Museums, which prohibits the unlicensed export of Thai cultural objects. The Act was amended in 1992 to create stricter controls over the illegal art trade. A bilateral agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, signed in 2000, extends such protection to artefacts of Cambodian origin. The enforcement of these regulations is challenging. Cultural heritage protection agencies in Thailand, as in most Asian countries, are understaffed and underfunded; lacking specialized training to effectively gather evidence; unable to patrol remote sites and to compete with the sophisticated resources of professional looters and art dealers. In certain areas, even government officials appear to be involved in the smuggling process.220 Traffickers take advantage of the low risk of detection and of the high financial returns generated by the illicit art trade. A Thai dealer told a journalist that the markup is significant, with a Cambodian looter receiving at most 130 USD for a piece that will sell in Bangkok for 30,000 USD or more.221

Interviewees said the cultural properties trade is handled by Thai criminal groups which use professional networks and sophisticated methods to connect the cultural property with international art dealers.222 For instance, in 2008 the Los Angeles Times reported on the long-standing existence of a transnational network for Thai ancient artefacts, involving both Thai and American dealers and benefiting museums and private collectors in the United States.223 Most of these artefacts came from the ancient civilization of Ban Chiang (present in north-eastern Thailand from 1000 BCE to 200 CE).224 Thailand has claimed state ownership over these and other objects found in the United States and 554 archaeological artefacts were returned to Thailand in October 2014.225

Very few government agencies interviewed in the course of this research were knowledgeable about trafficking in cultural property in Thailand. Most of the knowledge in this area is provided by international scholars, law enforcement authorities and organizations such as UNESCO and INTERPOL. Initiatives aimed at tackling illicit art trade in Thailand and Southeast Asia are usually promoted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations and UNESCO.

UNESCO raised awareness of art crimes among government officers and the general public during a sub-regional symposium on the Fight against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia, which took place in Bangkok in November 2014. In its presentation, UNESCO suggested a number of society-oriented and government-oriented measures that would enhance knowledge regarding antiquities theft. UNESCO encouraged Thailand to widely publicize education on Thai history and heritage. Government authorities were invited to promote the country’s cultural heritage; to enhance cultural heritage management; and to increase cooperation within Thailand and neighbouring countries in order to counter illegal trafficking in cultural property and collaborate on prevention strategies.226

220 Felch, J. (2008, January 25). Raids suggest a deeper network of looter art. Los Angeles Times. 221 Brodie, N. (2005, Spring). In the News: the rest of Asia, in Culture Without Context: The Newsletter of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, 16, 17. Retrieved from http://traffickingculture.org/app/uploads/2012/07/CWC-16.pdf 222 Gruber, S. (2014). Perspectives on the Investigation, Prosecution and Prevention of Art Crime in Asia. University of Hong Kong, Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Occasional Paper, 26, 3. Retrieved from http://www.law.hku.hk/ccpl/pub/occasionalpapers/index.html 223 Felch, J., & Boehm, M. (2008, January 29). Probe of stolen art goes national. Los Angeles Times. 224 Felch, J. (2008, January 25). Raids suggest a deeper network of looter art. Los Angeles Times. 225 Na NakornPhanom, S. (2014). Legal and Operational Tools for Facilitating the Restitution of Cultural Objects: Case study from Thailand. Presentation at the Sub-regional Symposium for the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in South East Asia. Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/culture/heritage/illicit-trafficking/symposium/ sea/?utm_ medium=%252525252525252 226 UNESCO. (2014). Prevention Measurement for Cultural Properties in Thailand. Thailand country presentation at the Sub-regional Symposium for the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in South East Asia. Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved from http:// www. unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/culture/1970_symposium_SEA/Thailand_20Nov.pdf

2.10

Other Crimes

Other crimes reported by the interviewees include the trafficking of motorbikes and cars; human organs; cigarettes; call centres run by organized criminal groups; gambling; and credit card skimming. The following provides some examples of these.

Vehicle Smuggling

Motorbikes are often smuggled across the border from Thailand’s Sa Kaeo Province and into Cambodia, while car smugglers tend to work out of Mae Sot Province.

Offenders who steal the motorbikes are mostly Thai, with occasional assistance from Cambodians. Often the perpetrators are teenagers trying to make money for drugs, while on the receiving end across the border in Cambodia, the offenders tend to be career offenders.

Motorbike smugglers usually work at night and will generally take three to six used bikes. New motorbikes are purchased for approximately 50,000 baht (1,400 USD) and then taken over the Cambodian border, where they sell for approximately 30,000 baht (840 USD). Offenders then report the bike as stolen and claim insurance payouts of approximately 30,000 baht.

Secondhand cars are usually sold by Pakistani groups in the Mae Sot region, after they had obtained the used cars from Japan. The cars are sold at a price that is significantly lower than market value, and so law enforcement officers assume that the cars are either stolen or that the business is a front for money laundering. The authorities suspect that the groups in question have a Thai lawyer since they manoeuvre around the law so well. Fraudulent licence plates are used to smuggle the vehicles across the border into the neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Lao PDR.227

227 Tanyapongpruch, S. (2002). Transnational Organized Crime in Thailand. UNAFEI Resource Material Series. Tokyo, 59, 603. Retrieved from http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No59/No59_40PA_Tanyapongpruch.pdf

Call Centres Run By Organized Criminal Groups

Call centres run by organized criminal groups are on the rise as can be seen from the Department of Special Investigation Annual Reports. The organized criminal groups use many different methods, with approximately 10,000 people falling victim to this crime in 2016. A typical call centre scam involves pretending to be an investor and convincing unsuspecting people to invest in an exciting opportunity. They transfer money into what turns out to be the scammer’s own account. The research literature calls this practice boiler rooms.228

The organized criminal groups operating call centres in Thailand tend to be from from China (Taiwan was mentioned separately), Malaysia and South Korea. These groups do not typically have names and are merely identified by their nationality. Thai persons have been hired as staff in some of these organizations, notably if the organized criminal groups are based in neighbouring countries.

Credit Card Skimming

Identity theft is increasing due to credit card skimming. In recent years, the Royal Thai Police have caught numerous organized criminal groups conducting credit card fraud or skimming. For example, in 2019, the police caught a credit card gang which was charged with a 13 million baht (ca. USD 400,000) fraud.229

Credit card fraud is typically run by foreigners without the involvement of Thai nationals. Romanian organized criminal groups appear to specialize in this activity, as does the ‘Piglet gang’ (from Taiwan, Hong Kong and more broadly China), and Brazilian, Russian and Turkish offenders.

228 Schmid, T. (2010). The Darker Side of Tropical Bliss: Foreign Mafia in Thailand. Thailand Law Forum, 2. Retrieved from http://www. thailawforum.com/foreign-mafia-thailand.html 229 Bangkok Post. Credit-card gang, hotelier charged with B13M fraud. Retrieved from https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ general/1697412/credit-card-gang-hotelier-charged-with-b13m-fraud