The arrest of Santosh Shetty - a leading underworld figure in Mumbai wanted for contract killings and drug-trafficking - has received widespread coverage in the Indian media but has not warranted a mention in the Thai press.

 

Different versions of how he was arrested have been put forward by diplomatic sources, Indian police and local law enforcement officers, but one thing for certain is that he was not "extradited" or officially "deported" from Thailand.

 

Santosh Shetty

Shetty was flown to Mumbai on Aug 12 and arrested by local Crime Branch police. Since being in the custody of Indian police he has opened up about his extensive criminal network in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and the activities of other major underworld figures.

 

His self-styled SS (Santosh Shetty) Syndicate - modelled along corporate lines - was allegedly involved in drug and human-trafficking, extortion, murder, counterfeit currency and fake documents.

More troubling for Thailand is that Shetty had been running his criminal operations out of the Kingdom since at least 2000, say Indian intelligence sources, and his association could stretch back to the mid-1990s when he fled Mumbai.

Shetty was constantly on the move, hopping between his hideouts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Teheran and Bangkok, according to Indian media reports.

He is a suspect in at least two killings in India; lawyer Shahid Azmi in February 2009 and crime gang henchman Farid Tanasha in late 2010.

Disturbingly, he has allegedly told Mumbai police he was involved in the murder of a fellow Indian gangster Bharat Nepali in Pattaya, also in late 2010, after a dispute over how to divide proceeds from criminal activities.

Shetty's case raises some serious questions for Thailand about foreign criminals operating here, the ease with which they enter and exit the country and what to do with them if they are detected but have not committed a criminal offence here. The policing of foreign criminals is further complicated by the lack of extradition treaties with some countries, the status of Interpol Red Notices (which alert countries to wanted criminals) and human rights concerns.

Using Shetty as a case study, Spectrum spoke to several diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence and immigration officials to ascertain how Thailand deals with foreign criminals who abuse the Kingdom's easygoing visa and entry requirements.