Thailand nabs three Europeans after paedophile tip

Bangkok - Thai police on Tuesday arrested three European tourists, all in their 60s, on charges of sexually abusing minors at a beach resort. The suspects were rounded up in Pattaya, 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, after Thai police were tipped...

Posted : Tue, 12 May 2009 09:53:41 GMT
Author : DPA

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show ... e-tip.html

Bangkok - Thai police on Tuesday arrested three European tourists, all in their 60s, on charges of sexually abusing minors at a beach resort. The suspects were rounded up in Pattaya, 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, after Thai police were tipped off by Interpol about a Swedish child sex tour to the beach resort, notorious for its sleazy entertainment scene.

The men arrested were Swedish nationals Karl Erik Berglund, 60, and Lars Anders Ellerman, 65, and British national George Stanley Gibbs, 67.

"These men have abused many children in the Pattaya area," said Police Major General Chaiwat Gaetworachai, head of Thailand's Child Protection Division.

He acknowledged that several of the men on the sex tour had evaded arrest.

Two Swedes caught in Thai child sex sting

Published: 12 May 09 12:57 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19404/20090512/


Police in Thailand working together with their Swedish counterparts have arrested two Swedes suspected of sex crimes involving children.

* Swede held for child sex crimes in Cambodia (8 May 09)
* Swede in Cambodia held for kidnapping (24 Jul 08)
* Sweden takes action against child sex tourism (20 Dec 07)

The two men are “late, middle-aged” according to the police, and were arrested in their home in the Thai city of Pattaya early Tuesday morning local time.

“There weren’t just there on a tourist trip, but have been more frequent visitors to Thailand,” said Anders Ahlqvist of the Swedish police’s IT-crimes section, to the TT news agency.

The men are now being transported by plane to Bangkok and have yet to be interrogated. Swedish police are also traveling to Thailand to contribute to the investigation. Should the case proceed to trial, however, it would take place in the Thai courts.

The men's alleged victims are all younger than 15-years-old, although there were no children in the apartment at the time of the police raid, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

The raid on the two Swedes is a part of a special effort by the Swedish National Investigation Department (Rikskriminalen) to combat sex crimes committed by Swedes against children in other countries.

Four people from the agency’s IT-crimes section have been working specifically on such cases, two as investigators and two with intelligence gathering.

The work is being carried out within the framework of the government’s efforts to combat human trafficking.

About a week ago, a Swedish man was also arrested in Cambodia on charges of sexually assaulting children.

“It has a great deal to do with cooperation with local police authorities in target countries, we’re assisting them so that they can engage in effective crime fighting,” said Ahlqvist.

In the current case, Swedish police have provided intelligence about the two Swedes and sent officers to Thailand.

“We can’t carry out a search or other invasive measures there, but we can help the Thai police. There’s a great need for it, because it’s not so easy for them to examine confiscated computers which contain material in Swedish,” said Ahlqvist.

“The Thai police have been much more on the offensive and are now arresting people who commit these types of crimes, which they may not have been known for doing earlier.”

Ahlqvist said that the latest arrests can be seen as the start of something new.

“Now we have the resources to do this sort of work and that’s a clear signal that it’s time to drop the notion that you’re going to a safe haven when you travel to Southeast Asia,” he said.

TT/David Landes (news@thelocal.se)

http://www.thelocal.se/19404/20090512/

Aardvark wrote:Thank God they weren't Australian, we've had our share over the years

saint wrote:.......... out of interest , what do our resident anti capital punishment brigade think is the best way to deal with these sickos ? or , is there anyone out there that beleives these people are ill , and could be cured with psychiatric help ?

saint wrote:i dont believe i was suggesting anything jack , i asked a simple , straight forward question , which you decided to answer with your own question .

...unless you dont segregate them , and leave them to the mercy of the other inmates .

jingjai wrote:

...unless you dont segregate them , and leave them to the mercy of the other inmates .

Well...if the rest of the world's prisons and inmates are anything like the good 'ol American prisons...paedos will get their "just reward"...if they are arrested, tried under due process of law, and convicted, in their home countries.
However, here in Thailand, these type of cases seem to go forever, while the accused remains free on bail to continue their behavior.