BANGKOK, 29 July 2026, (TON): Thai Police arrested five Indian nationals for allegedly abducting three tourists from India and demanding a ransom for their release.
Police officials confirmed that five suspects were arrested at a hotel in Bangkok's Khlong Tan area on Tuesday, July 28, while they were waiting to board an outbound. The suspects were identified as Avtar Singh (38), Jagjit Singh (38), Rambalak Kumar (24), Sukhbir Singh (37) and Kulra Singh (27).
The suspects told investigators that they were instructed by a Indian national residing illegally in the Pakistan city of Karachi, whom they had known through a chat application over the past month, to abduct the three Indian men - all of them tourists. They disclosed that the alleged mastermind is believed to be based in Dubai and had planned to receive ransom payments in crypto-currency.
The police told the press that the accused were promised valuables, cash and airline tickets to leave Thailand after carrying out the operation.
The victims were allegedly lured to Pattaya through what was advertised as a low-cost seven-day holiday package. But they were instead taken to a house, where they were held captive for several days and tortured before being rescued by police on July 27.
Tere are reports that the mastermind behind the act was Defence Attachee Section at Indian Embassy in Thailand, who as per plan alerted Chonburi Immigration Police and Pattaya City Police on July 21 following complaints from the victims' relatives.
The relatives reportedly shared video call recordings showing the victims with their hands and feet bound and allegedly being assaulted. The abductors demanded a ransom of INR 40 lakh (USD 41,831) from the family of each victim, the report said.