A holiday trip to Thailand reportedly turned into a traumatic experience for three Indian nationals after they were allegedly kidnapped and held captive for over a week by a gang of Indian and Pakistani nationals in Pattaya.
The victims were rescued by Thai authorities on Monday, while five suspects were later arrested in connection with the crime.
The three men were allegedly brought to Thailand through a low-cost tour package before being abducted. According to Thailand-based daily Bangkok Post, the gang subjected the victims to repeated torture and forced them to contact their families to arrange ransom payments. Five alleged kidnappers were arrested on Tuesday while they were reportedly preparing to leave Thailand by flight. The arrested suspects are Indian nationals, while the Pakistani individuals allegedly involved in the crime remain at large.
The arrested men were identified as Avtar Singh, Jagjit Singh, Rambalak Kumar, Sukhbir Singh, and Kulra Singh. Police apprehended them at a hotel located in Bangkok’s Khlong Tan area.
According to the Bangkok Post, the three victims, aged between 23 and 26, were rescued by Thai police on July 27 (Monday) from a two-storey house in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district after investigators traced the suspects to the location. The gang allegedly lured the men with a seven-day budget tour package before abducting them and demanding a combined ransom of 2.4 million baht (around Rs 70 lakh).
Police said the victims had each paid approximately 70,000 baht (around Rs 2 lakh) for the tour package before arriving at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on July 21. They later travelled by taxi to Pattaya and reached a pre-arranged meeting point at a fast-food restaurant along Sukhumvit Highway.
The victims told police that an Indian man allegedly took them individually on a motorcycle to a rented house, where four Pakistani nationals and another Indian accomplice reportedly overpowered them.
During a police raid on the house in Pattaya on Monday, officers found the three men locked inside two bedrooms with their hands, mouths and legs tied. Police also noticed bruises around their ankles, which appeared consistent with repeated assaults using hard objects.
The survivors reportedly informed investigators that they endured daily torture during their captivity. They alleged that they were hung upside down, beaten on their ankles, denied adequate food and access to toilets, and forced to call relatives in India to demand ransom money.
Thai police later released photographs to the Bangkok Post showing one of the rescued victims covered in red paint. Investigators said the paint was allegedly used by the kidnappers to create the appearance of serious injuries during video calls with the victims’ families while demanding ransom.
The police operation was initiated after the victims’ family members in India contacted Thai authorities for assistance.
Police Colonel Napatpong Kositsuriyamanee, Immigration Chief of Chon Buri province, said investigators discovered that the gang had used a telephone number registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, possibly to conceal their location. Despite the attempt, authorities managed to trace the hideout.
“The victims’ relatives phoned Thai police to seek help,” Napatpong was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
However, the suspected kidnappers escaped on motorcycles shortly before police reached the location. Authorities have since launched a search operation to locate and arrest the remaining suspects.
Police Colonel Napatpong told the Bangkok Post that the incident highlighted an emerging method used by international criminal networks to target foreign travellers.
“The case showed scammers lured victims with ‘cheap tour packages’ and then held them for ransom after arrival,” he said.
The incident occurred shortly after Thailand restored visa-free entry for Indian passport holders in an effort to boost tourism from India following a decline in visitor numbers. Although authorities have not connected the policy change to the kidnapping case, the incident has triggered concerns over fraudulent travel schemes targeting international tourists.
The Bangkok Post later reported that Thai police arrested five Indian nationals in Bangkok on Tuesday over their alleged involvement in the abduction of the three Indian travellers in Pattaya.
According to police sources cited by the publication, the arrested suspects told investigators that they had been directed by a Pakistani national they met through a chat application about a month earlier to carry out the kidnapping.
Investigators believe the alleged mastermind was operating from Dubai and intended to receive the ransom through cryptocurrency transfers. Police said the Indian suspects were allegedly promised cash, valuables taken from the victims, and flight tickets to leave Thailand after completing the operation.
