Four Thalang officials face investigation over alleged extortion

Four Thalang administrative officials and Volunteer Defense Corps (OrSor) members have been named as subjects of a disciplinary investigation into allegations that detainees were asked to pay money for their release, Phuket Governor Chotinarin Kerdsom said on 28 September 2026.

The governor did not identify the officials. He said a provincial fact-finding committee had examined witness statements, documents, physical and circumstantial evidence, and social-media information. Two alleged victims provided information and confirmed their accounts to investigators.

The committee said the evidence was consistent and interconnected, with no significant indication that the complainants had previously been in conflict with the officials or had another apparent motive to make false allegations. It concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe the reported incidents may have occurred and that the conduct could amount to disciplinary and criminal offences.

Governor Chotinarin stressed that being named in the investigation did not mean the four had been found guilty. The process is expected to take no more than 60 days, although an extension may be requested under the relevant regulations. The officials have already been removed from duties connected with the operations under investigation.

The probe follows allegations made public earlier in September that people detained at a late-night drug checkpoint in Thalang were taken to a room in a building behind the Thalang District Office. Payments of between B6,000 and B15,000 were allegedly demanded for their release. In one reported case, a B15,000 demand was negotiated down to B12,000, while the person later received a B2,000 court fine. In another, a family member allegedly paid B6,000 to secure the release of an elderly detainee.

The allegations prompted Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit to order an urgent investigation and ask provincial authorities to check whether similar complaints existed elsewhere in Phuket. The province subsequently suspended all 226 reserve OrSor members in Thalang pending fingerprinting and criminal-record checks. The original operational team was dissolved and replaced, while a local administrative official with responsibilities linked to the OrSor units was removed from security and anti-narcotics duties.

The province is also reviewing work orders issued to OrSor members involved in government operations during 2025-26, along with their service histories and conduct. Governor Chotinarin said personal relationships must not affect public administration and that disciplinary and legal action would be taken if wrongdoing were established, regardless of rank. Any potential criminal offences will be handled separately through the judicial process.