A Visa For Vice

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Last month's 'expulsion' of an Indian crime boss who made Thailand his base for a decade highlights the problem police and immigration face in detecting and dealing with foreign criminals

• Published: 4/09/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: SpectrumOne of India's most-wanted gangsters who ran a regional crime network from Bangkok for over a decade was quietly "expelled" from Thailand last month, despite being a suspect in a gangland murder in Pattaya.

The arrest of Santosh Shetty - a leading underworld figure in Mumbai wanted for contract killings and drug-trafficking - has received widespread coverage in the Indian media but has not warranted a mention in the Thai press.

 

Different versions of how he was arrested have been put forward by diplomatic sources, Indian police and local law enforcement officers, but one thing for certain is that he was not "extradited" or officially "deported" from Thailand.

 

 

Santosh Shetty

 

Shetty was flown to Mumbai on Aug 12 and arrested by local Crime Branch police. Since being in the custody of Indian police he has opened up about his extensive criminal network in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and the activities of other major underworld figures.

 

His self-styled SS (Santosh Shetty) Syndicate - modelled along corporate lines - was allegedly involved in drug and human-trafficking, extortion, murder, counterfeit currency and fake documents.

 

More troubling for Thailand is that Shetty had been running his criminal operations out of the Kingdom since at least 2000, say Indian intelligence sources, and his association could stretch back to the mid-1990s when he fled Mumbai.

 

Shetty was constantly on the move, hopping between his hideouts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Teheran and Bangkok, according to Indian media reports.

 

He is a suspect in at least two killings in India; lawyer Shahid Azmi in February 2009 and crime gang henchman Farid Tanasha in late 2010.

 

Disturbingly, he has allegedly told Mumbai police he was involved in the murder of a fellow Indian gangster Bharat Nepali in Pattaya, also in late 2010, after a dispute over how to divide proceeds from criminal activities.

 

Shetty's case raises some serious questions for Thailand about foreign criminals operating here, the ease with which they enter and exit the country and what to do with them if they are detected but have not committed a criminal offence here. The policing of foreign criminals is further complicated by the lack of extradition treaties with some countries, the status of Interpol Red Notices (which alert countries to wanted criminals) and human rights concerns.

 

Using Shetty as a case study, Spectrum spoke to several diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence and immigration officials to ascertain how Thailand deals with foreign criminals who abuse the Kingdom's easygoing visa and entry requirements.

 

 

OUR DOORS ARE OPEN

Statistics don't always tell the full story.

 

According to the Immigration Department in 2010 there were 362,960 charges against foreign nationals (including for illegal entry), and of those deemed serious 84 were crimes related to money, 19 for threats and bodily harm and 11 for sexual crimes.

 

Up until July this year, 233,293 charges have been laid, with the breakdown 35 for crimes related to money, 19 for threats and bodily harm and eight for sex crimes.

 

But unofficially, immigration officers say there are about 1,000 foreign criminals calling Thailand home. One senior police official said it is a nightmare to deal with, as there are organised crime gangs from around the world with a presence in Thailand who are clever enough not to overstep the line. Often a foreign national in Thailand who is targeted by a crime gang is unwilling to make a formal complaint to local police.

 

"It's suspected there are various foreign crime gangs working in Thailand," he said. "You have the Japanese Yakuza, the Russian mafia, and other organised gangs from Asia and other countries. You have Israeli criminals here for instance.

 

BAD GUY WITHOUT BORDERS: Fugitive gangster and drug smuggler Santosh Shetty, was sent back to India by Thai authorities despite being implicated in a Pattaya murder.

 

"Alot of the time these people don't commit crimes against Thai nationals, they commit crimes against their own nationals, may it be extortion, may it be prostitution, may it be human-trafficking. Thai law - and it's one of our major problems in the Thai police - says if there's no complainant we cannot take pro-active measures."

 

Thailand does operate an immigration blacklist which identifies about 50,000 undesirables who are denied entry to the country.

 

Since the 1980s - when heroin trafficking was a major concern - foreign law enforcement agencies have established a presence in Thailand. They unofficially come under the umbrella of the 23-member Foreign Anti-Narcotics and Crime Community, and while some are open about having law enforcement operations in Thailand - such as the US, Australia, the UK, Japan, China, Indonesia and Israel - other countries do not want to publicise their police presence.

 

While that might look good on paper, those foreign agencies have limited scope in terms of resources and investigatory powers and must rely on local police. The arrest of a fugitive gangster may be a pressing matter for a particular country, but Thailand's main law enforcement priorities are: terrorism, narcotics, human trafficking and arms smuggling.

 

Local police asked to assist in tracking a foreign criminal complain that they are already overworked and overwhelmed doing routine investigations. There are also the problems of overcrowded jails and courts, where some extradition cases have dragged on for 10 years.

 

One senior police official said the most pressing issue for immigration officers at the moment is ATM phone scams operating out of Taiwan and mainland China. "It's impossible to deal with every request from a foreign country," he said.

 

Another problem for immigration officers and police is the number of criminals travelling on fake documents. Shetty, who allegedly was in the business of fake documentation, had two passports. While the second could be called a "fake" passport it was legitimately obtained in Kolkata under the fictitious name of Nicholas Sharma. This would render any Interpol Red Notice virtually useless.

 

"We cannot know when we have a name from an embassy if it's a fake passport," said one police officer.

 

A figure in the diplomatic community said it was quite easy for someone like Shetty to "come and go" as he pleased from Thailand. "Yes, he did have two fake passports; and was able to use them easily here when travelling in and out. And as we well know, fake documentation networks [are] very active and successful here."

 

The officer also said there were public and media misconceptions about the Interpol Red Notice which was not a de facto arrest warrant in a second country.

 

"We cannot arrest on an Interpol Red Notice, it truthfully has no meaning," he said. "In Europe it does, but in other countries around the world - the United States, Australia - we cannot use the Interpol Red Notice as an arrest warrant. It's a misconception. A red notice is basically a warning that a person has committed a crime. In our courts to be used as an arrest warrant, no."

 

On its website Interpol makes clear that a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant. "These red notices allow the warrant to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition."

 

 

OUR DOORS ARE CLOSED

But there is a method Thailand has been using for 40 years to expel foreign criminals from the Kingdom which receives little publicity and is even used in some cases where an extradition treaty exists with another country. Law enforcement officers are quick to use the word "expel" and make clear it is not a formal extradition or even a deportation.

 

Section 12 of the Immigration Act allows for foreigners to be "excluded from entering into the country" and parts 7 and 8 are employed to send foreign criminals back home. Section 54 is used for the "deportation".

 

Part 7 states that foreigners can be excluded for behaviour "which would indicate possible danger to the public or likelihood of being a nuisance or constituting any violence to the peace or safety of the public or to the security of the public or to the security of the nation, or being under warrant of arrest by competent officials of foreign governments".

 

Part 8 states exclusion on the grounds of "reason to believe that entrance into the Kingdom was for the purpose of being involved in prostitution, the trading of women or children, drug smuggling, or other types of smuggling which are contrary to the public morality".

 

The provisions are very broad. One officer said they were "draconian" but effective. "This gives authority to government officials to cancel a visa, refuse entry and expel," he said.

 

He added that police and immigration always tried to go through diplomatic channels first, but the process was often bogged down by bureaucratic red tape on both sides with some embassies taking months to reply. "It's easier to use immigration powers," he said.

 

The procedure was used in the Shetty case, which may explain why it received little publicity. Initial reports said that Shetty was arrested after a brawl in a Bangkok bar and arresting officers searched his apartment, found his "real" passport and checked it against the Interpol Red Notice.

 

According to one Thai official, this was not the case. Indian law enforcement officers had been working with Thai immigration officers on the Shetty case for several months and were well aware of his identity. What was being negotiated on both sides was how to get Shetty out of Thailand. India has no extradition treaty with Thailand.

 

When immigration laws are used to expel a foreign criminal three other conditions have to be met: the home country must cancel the wanted person's passport, issue a temporary travel document and provide a plane ticket on the next flight to the home country (preferably with the national carrier).

 

In return, Thailand will send officials with the wanted person until he is delivered into the custody of local authorities.

 

It's understood Shetty's case was delayed because India initially refused to make a formal request for his arrest and expulsion.

 

"This case is not the first time we've used this law," said the Thai official. "Basically, when we've received a request from a foreign country that Mr X is wanted in our country and is a criminal, we have the authority to use this."

 

Both Indian and Thai officials said there was no evidence that Shetty was involved in any criminal activities in Thailand, although one officer said there were two Indian crime gangs with a presence in the Kingdom.

 

"[i'm] not aware of any major activity he was conducting inside Thailand but he used this as a base for planning actions," said the official.

 

 

NAGGING QUESTIONS

The question still remains of how Shetty came to spend at least a decade in Bangkok conducting major criminal activities without being detected. It's understood he had a common-law Thai wife, but while making it easier for him to live here he still would have had visa reporting requirements.

 

A reasonable person would believe that Shetty should have been known to local authorities.

 

He was formerly a close associate of Indian gangland boss Chotta Rajan who escaped from a Bangkok hospital in September 2000 while recuperating from an attempted assassination by a rival gang. Since his arrest, Shetty has told Mumbai police he helped plot the escape and claimed Rajan paid US$1 million (30 million baht) to a senior intelligence officer in Bangkok to facilitate his escape to Cambodia.

 

One diplomatic source said it was easy for foreign criminals to stay "under the radar" in Thailand, particularly if they had a Thai wife and did not commit some "glaring" crime. He also said that widespread corruption in Thailand meant that even if authorities knew of criminal activities by a foreigner they would not take action unless "the individual poses a threat to security here".

 

The most troubling aspect of Shetty's "expulsion" is his alleged involvement in the Pattaya murder, by any definition a glaring crime. According to a report in the the Hindustan Times, Shetty, while in custody, has allegedly confessed to Nepali's murder after an argument over another crime figure.

 

"Shetty claimed he had shot dead Nepali in a beach bungalow in Thailand's Pattaya with a silenced revolver in November 2010, after he had an argument with him over their associate Vijay Shetty," Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Himanshu Roy said.

 

"Nepali had told Shetty that Vijay Shetty should be bumped off, after which, he and Shetty can share the profits in the business. But Shetty did not agree and started feeling insecure with Nepali, thinking that he may do a similar thing with him as well in future."

 

One senior police officer Spectrum asked about the Pattaya killing said it was complicated by the fact that the Indian Embassy had refused to identify or claim the body, making it impossible for local police to proceed with an investigation. He said it was now being treated as an open case.

 

Despite Shetty reportedly confessing to a murder in Thailand, the officer said there was no point in trying to bring him back to the Kingdom to face charges as there was no evidence in the case. There was also the likelihood that in a Thai court Shetty would retract his confession and say it was made under duress.

 

An Indian official said there was no confirmation Shetty was involved in the Pattaya murder, although there were Indian media reports he had accepted responsibility.

 

While the Shetty expulsion may have been the best outcome for both countries, not all foreign requests are met. While a foreign country may have been tracking a suspect and have intelligence he or she is headed to Thailand, there is little that can be done if the person has no arrest warrant issued against them. There is also Thailand's image as a tourist destination to consider.

 

"Then we get in trouble with our Foreign Ministry, our Tourism Ministry," said one local police officer. "So you say, 'Do we look the other way?' Well we have to. There's no action that we can take".

 

[Flashermac]

Good thing he didn't go to the Pattaya police with an expired visa. They'd have thrown him in the slammer for sure.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

I could see this result in more hassle for those of us who DO abide by the rules though

 

Sanuk!