Thailand begins catching foreign criminals using facial recognition technology

Some Russians in Thailand are seriously excited: it became clear how the Thai authorities recently managed to catch a record number of foreign violators of everything from the law to visa rules at once. It turns out that inconspicuous cars and agents equipped with some kind of “magic special equipment” run in tourist places. Having learned about the “magic” first-hand, we asked what the citizens of the Russian Federation are in danger of being caught by such a progressive method.

At the beginning of this week, the immigration bureau of Thailand, represented by its vice head, Major General Nuchanart, reported that, at the request of the Russian diplomatic mission, the Thai police managed to locate and detain a 51-year-old Russian citizen accused of murder in his homeland (the court verdict is already there) .

– The Russian request for the extradition of a dangerous criminal to his homeland, received by our Foreign Ministry, will also be executed as soon as possible, Panthana Nuchanart assures.

But before that, the killer from Samara quite calmly lived and walked in Pattaya for three whole years. What has changed? Is it really “magic”? Or did the Thai authorities just magically have a desire to find and return foreign criminals? Indeed, before the pandemic, the Kingdom of Smiles was clearly not fond of this.

– Yes, for years here in the jungle in the bungalow lived those who were on the run! – on condition of anonymity, the Russian admits, in his own words, “hanging out in Tae for six years already.” – Not only ours, but from all over the world. And no one was looking for them.

On Koh Samui, near a supermarket, at one time there was always some kind of drunken ragamuffin grandfather, who looked like a Russian homeless man. He was sometimes thrown coins and quickly passed by, otherwise he was smelly. And when he died, it turned out that he was a famous European criminal who had robbed a Swiss bank in a particularly cunning way. I just don’t understand, did he really manage to drink all the loot on Koh Samui?! It takes a lot of effort.

But it looks like it won’t last long. According to representatives of the Thai immigration service, said in private (she does not give official comments), the basis for tightening control over foreigners throughout Thailand was their record influx into the country – especially Russians.

– It’s probably not a secret for you either that in our country, many immigrants from Eastern Europe, in particular from Russia and Ukraine, are hiding from criminal prosecution in their countries, – says the Thai immigration officer. – It has always been like this, we also knew about it, but we connected only in case of urgent requests from the diplomatic missions of a country looking for its dangerous citizen with us. This time we are also not looking for such people on purpose, they come across themselves.

– And who are you looking for?

– Violators of the visa regime. This is in order to understand how many foreigners are in the country, who we have where, and also in case of future offenses.

– And what about “packagers” – organized tourists – does this apply?

– Of course not. Those arriving for a week or two from a certain tour operator to certain hotels are the most problem-free contingent in terms of identification. But they have their own problems, not with immigration, but with ordinary police. In the mass tourist influx, the number of domestic crimes has risen sharply, mainly on the basis of the use of alcohol or illegal substances.

– They say that you introduced some kind of “special tracking equipment” into the case?

– Sorry, I have no right to answer this question even in private.

But in the thematic chats of Runet, the Thai state secret is already known: the detective department of the immigration service was given cars equipped with advanced facial recognition technology.

“The cars look unremarkable, they can ply in crowded places where there are a lot of tourists, without attracting attention, but at the same time scanning absolutely all the faces around them,” explains the Russian relocant, who learned the secret from the owner of his Thai dwelling. – With such a scanner, a person can walk in the crowd, but the cars manage to cover more places.

– But the car will not pass into the jungle!

– The car is not. But since you can equip anything with a scanner, then those who are on the run will no longer see peace. Maybe a bird with a scanner above them flutters …

But, in the end, not everyone in Thailand is on the run, so why is the new tracking technology scaring ordinary law-abiding relocators and long-steers?

“Citizens of the Russian Federation today only need a passport valid for at least six months to enter Thailand,” explains a Russian-speaking lawyer from Pattaya. – Previously, Russians could stay in our country without a visa for 1 month, and from October 1 of this year to March 31, 2023, 45 days. But for the subsequent extension of legal stay, you need to leave Thailand and re-enter.

– Yeah, it’s called a “visaran” – a trip to a neighboring country, – Russian long-steers agree. – Only he did not say that it flies a penny. Even if it’s a “border run” – I just drove up to the Cambodian border, crossed there on foot and immediately back. All the same, you pay not only for the extension itself, but also for travel.

It turns out that, observing the seemingly “sleepy” calmness of Thai law enforcement officers, many relax and “score” on extending their legal stay. Previously, this “rolled”, there were even unspoken “overstay battles” (exceeding the stay): for example, one American caught in Thung Maprao the other day, for example, had an overstay of 252 days.

But today, according to Russian-speaking winterers, they “grabbed without looking” even with a week’s excess of legal stay. And the punishment for this for lovers of Tai is extremely offensive – deportation. In especially severe cases – for 10 years. And in the easiest case (no more than 90 days and they themselves came to the “immigrant” with a sincere one) – for 1 year.