PATTAYA, Thailand
Thai police have arrested five Indian men accused of kidnapping, assaulting, torturing, holding captive for over five days, and demanding ransom from three fellow Indian tourists in Pattaya. The five men have reportedly admitted to the charges, but claimed they were just following orders from a mysterious Pakistani ringleader in Dubai.
The suspects were detained on July 28th, 2026, at a hotel in Bangkok’s Khlong Tan area while preparing to leave the country. Officers from Pattaya City Police Station, Chonburi Immigration, and Nong Prue Police Station carried out the arrests after an investigation into the earlier rescue of the victims.
The three victims, identified as Mr. Haimanchoo, 23; Mr. Aehis, 24; and Mr. Mekhid, 26, had purchased a tour package in India for travel to Pattaya. They were later abducted by the gang, and taken to a house at 36/4 Moo 13, where they were assaulted and held for ransom.
The five arrested men, all Indian nationals, are:
– Mr. Avtar Singh, 38
– Mr. Jagjit Singh, 38
– Mr. Rambalak Kumar, 24
– Mr. Sukhbir Singh, 37
– Mr. Kulraj Singh, 27
All five confessed to the crimes. They told investigators they acted on orders from a Pakistani mastermind based in Dubai. The ringleader allegedly supplied the victims’ flight and passport details so the group could intercept them. After seizing the men, the gang beat them and forced them to transfer cryptocurrency to the mastermind’s digital wallet. Any cash the victims carried was kept by the suspects. The group then arranged outbound flights in an attempt to flee Thailand before police closed in.
Police charged the five with jointly demanding ransom by detaining persons and threatening physical harm; jointly committing robbery while armed and using a vehicle to facilitate the crime or remove property; and jointly detaining or otherwise depriving others of their physical liberty.
The suspects were taken to Pattaya City Police Station for further questioning and legal proceedings.
