Johannes Petrus Maria van
Laarhoven (left) and his wife Mingkwan Kaen-in (not shown) have been
arrested on drug and money laundering charges.
Teerarak Suthathiwong
A Dutch man and his Thai wife are facing drug and money
laundering charges in two countries following a raid on their
Pattaya-area home.
Officers from the Anti-Money Laundering Office, Department of Special
Investigations, Office of the Attorney-General and Huay Yai police
apprehended Johannes Petrus Maria van Laarhoven and his wife Mingkwan
Kaen-in at their 2 rai property at the Phoenix Golf Course July 23.
Their arrests - requested by the Dutch government after a six-year
manhunt - came during four simultaneous raids on buildings and houses
belonging to the couple in Banglamung and Sattahip districts. More than
100 million baht in assets were seized, including buildings and condos
in Samut Prakan, three cars worth about 30 million baht, gold ornaments,
two Beretta pistols and 159 bullets. About 20 million baht in bank
accounts connected to the couple and their children also was seized.
Dutch authorities asked Thailand to arrest and extradite the couple for
their involvement in the trafficking of marijuana from the kingdom and
other Southeast Asian countries to coffee houses operated by a drug
network in the Netherlands.
They are wanted on two counts of transnational drug trafficking and
money-laundering. They also face criminal charges in Thailand for
operating a transnational criminal scheme and will be prosecuted here
before being shipped home to face charges.
The couple is accused of smuggling marijuana overseas, but also using
Thailand as a haven for money laundering by buying property, gold and
expensive cars. The drug network allegedly generated the equivalent of
600-800 million baht a year from the Thai drugs.
The asset seizures continued after the suspects’ arrest, with DSI
officers the next day seizing a three-bedroom luxury yacht that once
belonged to van Laarhoven before he sold it to a Chinese businessman.
Officials are looking other assets in Thailand, including a
Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
They were taken the same day to the Criminal Court for their first
12-day detention for interrogation. The case is being handled by the
Office of the Attorney-General, not DSI.
