On Friday, August 18, Thai Police reported the successful capture of an American-Thai couple who were allegedly running what the authorities claimed was Thailand’s largest online escort service and sex agency website, designed specifically for a foreign clientele.
The website was listed first on Google and received close to 430,000 hits every month, according to Deputy Immigration Bureau Chief Pol Maj Gen. Panthana Nuchanart, who spoke at a press conference hosted by the Bangkok Police, the Immigration Bureau, and the Information Technology Crime Suppression Center.
It was discovered that the website catered primarily to international clients, employing 80 prostitutes to cover several parts of Thailand, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Hua Hin.
The service providers offered a wide range of prostitution-related offerings displayed on the website, ranging from women, transgender people, and groups of sex workers working in pairs.
The website also featured thorough profiles of every sex worker, including their pictures, as well as “customer reviews,” which appeared to be written by English-speaking foreigners endorsing and recommending the sex workers.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society is purportedly attempting to shut down this website, but as of the time of publication, it was still accessible, according to The Pattaya News. Due to the ongoing legal action against the proprietors of the escort service, The Pattaya News also chose not to name the website.
According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the police inquiry into the website was initially sparked by complaints of some people being robbed and drunk by sex workers employed by this internet facility.
The purported website administrator, a 34-year-old Thai lady only known as Ms. Kanya, was detained by Thai police on August 13 at 5 AM, shortly after her international flight had touched down at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A 48-year-old American man, known only as Mr. Brad, was subsequently detained by police after they barged into a luxurious home in the Hua Hin neighborhood of the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan. He was believed to be Ms. Kanya’s spouse.
According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, Mr. Brad is the owner of the website that offered numerous prostitutes for hire services in the Kingdom.
A 15 million baht pool villa, a 3.5 million baht Mercedes-Benz C200 coupé, a 1.8 million baht Honda CRV, four computers, and many bank accounts totaling 9 million baht were all taken from the two. Over 40 million baht was the estimated worth of all confiscated property.
Ms. Kanya, who received a 40% part of the payments, was in charge of setting up appointments and arranging between the clients and the prostitutes, according to Pol Maj Gen Panthana.
The website’s operators, he continued, used a variety of contact methods, including Apple iPhones, WhatsApp connections, mobile phone numbers, and landlines, and they provided a wide range of payment alternatives, including PayPal and international credit cards.
It was also known that additional individuals who help run the website are hiding in Bangkok and other countries other than Thailand.
The authorities stressed that the Royal Thai Police’s (RTP) eradication of this illegal activity by foreigners within the Kingdom is a major priority because it throws a negative light on the nation.
They stated during a briefing that while attempting to compel the shutdown of the website, the RTP will expand its efforts outside of national boundaries to bring down the network participating in this illegal conduct.
The couple is currently being held on charges of prostitution offenses, which include things like offering services that satisfy the ‘desires of others,’ taking part in obtaining, enticing, or coercing people for indecent purposes without their consent, as well as assisting, facilitating, or protecting the prostitution business of others.
