A Royal Thai Police disciplinary committee has fired its former Deputy Commissioner-General over his alleged involvement in a digital gambling network.
The committee on Friday resolved unanimously to axe ex-Police General Surachate ‘Big Joke’ Hakparn from his position “without pension.”
illegal online gambling network dubbed Betflix.”
Surachate was, according to The Straits Times, sniffed out via multiple police raids in 2023 “targeting an illegal online gambling network dubbed Betflix.”
Thai authorities charged the ex-police chief with money laundering and dismissed him Friday according to “disciplinary procedures for officers under investigation”.
Surachate denies the money laundering claims but has been suspended since August when a royal command demanded he be removed from the force.
Surachate’s fall comes days after the death in prison of an ex Thai cop, nicknamed “Joe Ferrari” for his love of supercars, who was “serving life in jail for the murder of a suspect during a brutal interrogation.”
The story follows news of the Thai Prime Minister’s promise to China’s leader in February to step up efforts to combat human trafficking related crimes. In the same month, the concerted Sino-Thai political pressure resulted in Thai police freeing over 7,000 victims from a notorious Myanmar gambling and human trafficking scam center.