Indians kidnapping, exploiting Indian tourists in Thailand. Are such cases on the rise?

Thailand has emerged as a major destination for Indian tourists and workers, but it has also witnessed a rise in Indians being kidnapped and held for ransom or forced into criminal enterprises. In several cases, the perpetrators have turned out to be none other than Indians themselves.

On July 21, three Indians landed in Bangkok expecting a dream vacation. Instead, they were abducted, taken to a nondescript building in Pattaya, and tortured for ransom. They endured the ordeal for a week before Thai police raided the hideout and rescued them. The kidnappers, arrested while waiting to board a flight, turned out to be fellow Indians. It might sound unusual, but Indians kidnapping fellow Indians in Thailand is not unprecedented.

There is no shortage of Indians in Thailand. One of the world's most popular tourist destinations, the Southeast Asian nation attracts millions of visitors every year. According to Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports, nearly 2.5 million Indians visited the country in 2025, up from 1.63 million in 2023. Drawn by its pristine beaches, rich cultural heritage, and vibrant nightlife in cities such as Bangkok and Pattaya, Indians now rank among Thailand's largest groups of foreign visitors.

There is also a growing Indian community in Thailand, comprising both people of Indian origin who are Thai citizens and Indian nationals. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the community numbers around 275,000, including about 250,000 persons of Indian origin and 25,000 Indian nationals, and is active in sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, hospitality, IT, finance, healthcare and other professions.

That said, Thailand has witnessed a growing number of cases involving Indians kidnapping fellow Indians. Victims have been held for ransom or forced into criminal enterprises, including prostitution and scam centres, against their will. In many of these cases, relief came only after the victims' relatives alerted Thai police, leading to rescue operations.

THREE INDIANS LURED WITH BUDGET TRIP, HELD FOR RANSOM

On July 21, three Indians landed in Bangkok expecting an affordable holiday in Thailand. Instead, they were abducted, taken to a rented house in Pattaya and held captive for more than a week by a gang comprising Indian and Pakistani nationals. The victims were allegedly lured through a fake low-cost tour package before being tortured and forced to demand ransom from their families in India.

Thai police rescued the three men on July 27 after relatives in India alerted authorities. Investigators said the abductors beat the victims daily, hung them from their ankles, deprived them of food and necessities, and even staged fake injuries by slathering the victims with red paint during video calls to pressure families into paying a combined ransom of 2.4 million baht (around Rs 70 lakh).

Five Indian nationals were later arrested in Bangkok while allegedly attempting to flee the country. According to Thai media reports, investigators believe the operation was orchestrated by a Pakistani mastermind based in Dubai, who allegedly promised the kidnappers cash, valuables and flight tickets out of Thailand in exchange for carrying out the abduction.

LURED WITH HIGH PAYING JOBS, FORCED TO WORK IN SCAM CENTRES

While the latest incident involved Indians kidnapped after being lured in by cheap travel packages, many others have found themselves trafficked into cyber scam compounds along the Thailand-Myanmar border, where they are forced to carry out online fraud.

In March this year, the CBI arrested Mumbai-based Sunil Nellathu Ramakrishnan alias Krish, alleging he was a key facilitator in trafficking Indian nationals to cyber scam compounds in Myanmar's Myawaddy region, including KK Park. The agency said victims were lured with fake job offers in Thailand, transported to Bangkok and then detained and illegally moved into Myanmar, where they were forced to carry out cyber fraud.

The CBI said rescued victims who returned to India through Thailand in March and November 2025 provided details of the trafficking network and the functioning of scam centres.

In March 2025, 283 Indian nationals were repatriated from Thailand after being rescued from scam compounds along the Myanmar border. In January 2026, more than 120 people from Andhra Pradesh were rescued from cyber crime compounds in Myanmar in a similar operation.

The investigation pointed to the involvement of Indian recruiters and facilitators who allegedly helped traffic fellow Indians by promising overseas jobs, before handing them over to transnational cybercrime syndicates operating scam compounds in Myanmar.

However, many remain trapped. In June, India Today TV reported that at least 25 men from Maharashtra who travelled to Bangkok after receiving job offers from friends and relatives in India remain trapped in cyber crime centres along the Thailand-Myanmar border. In one case, the captors allegedly demanded Rs 8 lakh for a victim's release.

PROMISED HIGH-PAYING RESTAURANT JOBS, FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION

In February this year, Thai news outlet Khaosod English reported that Pattaya police had arrested two Indian nationals after three Indian women accused them of luring them to Thailand with fake job offers and forcing them into prostitution.

According to the report, the women told investigators they had been contacted through Instagram and promised well-paying restaurant jobs, with all travel expenses covered. The suspects allegedly flew the women to Pattaya on February 9.

Once in Pattaya, the women alleged that the two men confiscated their passports and detained them in a hotel room. They were then allegedly forced into prostitution along Pattaya South Beach, a popular tourist area. The women told investigators they were threatened with beatings, starvation and the release of compromising photographs to their families if they refused to comply or tried to escape.

According to Khaosod English, the women eventually escaped by retrieving their passports under the pretext of booking a hotel room for a client before seeking help from staff at a local Indian restaurant.

Pattaya police arrested the two Indian suspects on February 27 and charged them with multiple offences, including human trafficking, unlawful detention, coercion and procuring for prostitution.

AMBUSHED OUTSIDE HOTEL, HELD FOR RANSOM

Also in February this year, local news outlet, The Pattaya News reported that two Indian tourists were rescued by Thai cops from an upscale condominium in Pattaya's Phratamnak area on February 7 after they had been kidnapped and held for ransom by a gang of Indian nationals.

According to the report, the tourists told investigators that they had been ambushed outside their hotel by a group of Indian nationals and taken to the condo. Once detained, the captors managed to reach out to one of the victim's mothers and demanded a ransom of 2 million baht (around 60 million rupees).

The victim's mother, instead of paying, reached out to the president of the Indian Association in Chon Buri, who alerted the police about the case.

Following this, Pattaya Police executed an early morning raid on the condo, rescuing the two Indian tourists, who sustained injuries from the beatings they had been subjected to by their kidnappers. The raid netted four Indian nationals, who were charged with multiple offences, including, conspiracy to demand ransom, unlawful detention and causing bodily harm, reported The Pattaya News.

LURED WITH JOBS, KIDNAPED BY INDO-PAK GANG

In April 2025, the Thailand-based newspaper, The Nation, reported that Thai police rescued three Indian nationals from a safe house in Samut Prakan province after they were kidnapped by a gang comprising five Indian nationals and one Pakistani.

According to the report, the victims told investigators that they had been lured to Thailand with promises of overseas jobs in Austria. Instead, they were allegedly abducted, confined at a safe house, beaten with tape-wrapped sticks, and forced to call their families while the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 900,000 baht (around 2.5 million Indian rupees).

The case came to light after the sister of one of the victims received the ransom demand and alerted another Indian national in Thailand, who approached the police. Investigators traced the ransom calls to a condominium in Chonburi before locating the victims tied up at the safe house in Samut Prakan.

Thai police arrested six suspects, five Indian nationals and one Pakistani national from the safe house and the condominium. They were charged with illegal detention and attempted extortion.

Thailand continues to attract millions of Indians every year, both tourists looking to unwind and blow off some steam, and workers in search of a better life. However, the growing number of cases involving Indians targeting fellow Indians on foreign soil points to a disturbing trend.

From ransom kidnappings to human trafficking and forced cybercrime, these incidents reveal how criminal networks exploit trust, familiarity and the promise of a better life. While Thai and Indian authorities have intervened in several cases, the recurring nature of such crimes shows the need for greater awareness among Indians travelling abroad, as well as stronger cross-border coordination.

- Ends