The Singapore Police Force (‘SPF’) collaborated with the Royal Thai Police (‘RTP’) on a cross-border operation against a vice syndicate that allegedly recruited foreign women and sent them to Singapore to work as vice workers. The operation led to the arrest two Singaporean men aged 38 and 36, a Thai man aged 50 on 17 June 2025 in Thailand, for their alleged involvement in operating a transnational vice syndicate.
Investigations into the vice syndicate began in 2023. From April 2023 to May 2025, anti-vice operations conducted in Singapore led to the arrests of at least 76 vice workers under the Women’s Charter 1961, who were allegedly managed by the vice syndicate. Investigations against the vice workers established useful information against the vice syndicate.
Officers from the Specialised Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the SPF have been working closely with officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the RTP to share investigation findings related to the vice syndicate. Based on the leads uncovered, the identities of the three syndicate members were established. The 38-year-old Singaporean man allegedly used a complex network of bank accounts to remit the prostitution earnings of the vice workers from Singapore to Thailand. The 36-year-old Singaporean man allegedly supported the syndicate in the transnational vice operations.
Following extensive planning and close collaboration between the SPF and RTP, the three syndicate members were arrested by the RTP on 17 June 2025 for offences under the Thai Criminal Code. Assets valued at more than 20 million Thai baht (approximately 790,635 Singapore dollars) comprising cash in bank accounts and two condominium units, together with laptops, mobile phones, hard drives, bank cards and SIM cards, were seized by the RTP.
SPF’s investigations led to the freezing of more than 1.26 million Singapore dollars of suspected criminal proceeds from the 38-year-old man’s Singapore bank accounts. Investigations are ongoing.
The SPF and RTP remain committed to working together to disrupt the activities of transnational vice syndicates and bring them to justice. The successful outcome of the arrest operation by the RTP underscores the importance of international cooperation in tackling the evolving threat of transnational syndicated crimes. Deputy Director of CID, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Yeo Yee Chuan, expressed his appreciation to the RTP. He said, “International cooperation in information sharing and operational and investigative collaboration is crucial to counter transnational syndicated crime. The SPF is committed to working closely with our regional partners, and we thank the RTP for their invaluable collaboration in dismantling this criminal network to prevent the exploitation of women, stem the scourge of transnational crimes and take affirmative actions against the laundering of criminal proceeds. We remain relentless in our pursuit of transnational syndicates; and will continue to hunt them down wherever they are and bring them to justice.”
The CIB of the RTP expressed its sincere appreciation to the SPF for the invaluable support in the recent joint operation against transnational criminal groups. This successful operation underscores the critical role of international cooperation in dismantling criminal networks that threaten the safety and security of our societies and citizens. Commissioner of CIB, Police Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej said, “The dedication and professionalism of the SPF and RTP officers were instrumental in the successful cross-border operational collaboration which led to the apprehension of the transnational criminal syndicate. We remain committed to strengthening our collaboration with SPF and other global partners to ensure that criminals are brought to justice and our communities remain safe.”
Annex A – Photos from past anti-vice ops related to the syndicate
Annex B – Photos from the cross-border anti-vice ops executed in Thailand by the RTP
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 June 2025 @ 1:00 PM