The Criminal Court has thrown out a bail request for a suspected gambling den boss in the East and his alleged collaborators.
Police asked the court to detain Somchai Jutikitdecha, aka Longjoo Somchai, 56, and four others on charges of contract killing, running a gambling den and money laundering. Some of the suspects sought bail for their temporary releases.
They were arrested in Rayong on Thursday.
Mr Somchai faced all three charges while his son Thana, 26, faced the latter two charges. The two other suspects were charged with money laundering.
The court dismissed their bail requests, citing the seriousness of the offences, flight risks and the possibility of witness tampering.
Police accused Mr Somchai, a powerful figure in the East, of being the owner of gambling dens in Map Ta Phut, Rayong, Pattaya and Bang Lamung in Chon Buri.
They alleged he had turned his gains from the illegal businesses into assets worth at least 880 million baht. They included 111 land title deeds, seven housing estates, a yacht and four cars.
Some of these assets were held by his son and his family members, who also faced money-laundering charges.
Another 22 people have yet to be caught under the arrest warants in the same cases.
The arrests came after Pratum Sa-adnak, a motorcyclist for hire, had been shot dead by two men in Pattaya in late July last year.
Pratum allegedly took photos of a gambling den in the resort town. The hit was believed to silence him.
The investigation into the murder was expanded to include the gambling empire allegedly owned by Mr Somchai.
According to police, 43 policemen had allegedly received bribes from the dens. Among them, at least two were lieutenant generals, nine were major generals and 21 were colonels.
