SINGAPORE, June 20 — Two Singaporean men believed to be key figures in a transnational vice syndicate have been arrested in Thailand following a joint operation between the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Royal Thai Police (RTP).
According to Channel News Asia, a Thai national was also detained in the cross-border crackdown on June 17.
Investigations into the criminal group began in 2023, after more than 70 vice workers arrested in Singapore were linked to the same network.
“Investigations against the vice workers established useful information against the vice syndicate,” SPF said in a statement.
The arrests followed close cooperation between the SPF’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Technology Crime Suppression Division of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). Shared intelligence allowed authorities to identify the three suspects.
The 38-year-old Singaporean allegedly used a “complex network of bank accounts” to transfer prostitution proceeds from Singapore to Thailand.
The second Singaporean, aged 36, is believed to have supported the syndicate’s cross-border operations.
The men were arrested under the Thai Criminal Code. Assets worth more than 20 million baht (RM2.4 million), including cash, two condos, and various digital devices, were seized by Thai officers.
In Singapore, more than S$1.26 million in suspected criminal proceeds was frozen from the older suspect’s bank accounts.
Investigations are ongoing.
