Is Thai mafia is real thing in Thailand??

[troubled soul]

I heard so much about Thai mafia ....if some rich expat want to settle in Thailand...if he worry about the mafia.

What are your thoughts?
Any update on Thai expat put light on this??

 

[chrisgerth]

If you mean by Thai mafia the police - then yes. They are real and they are organised, do not expect help from the local police. Stay far away from them, otherwise lovely country. Spend years there.

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

Is there a Thai mafia? Yeah all that heroin has to be moved by someone.
Is it likely to affect you? Most likely not unless you go looking for it.

As chrisgerth already said, stay away from police and NEVER EVER get into a conflict with a Thai man.
NEVER hit a Thai man, you are in for a lot of trouble.

 

[financenick]

Nothing to worry about. Thailand is one of the safest and loveliest countries you can imagine, especially if you're wealthy. You won't be able to enjoy free speech like back home, and you better not wanna get involved with police or justice system or into a fight with locals. It's not as bad as some of the frustrated sexpats make it; Thailand keeps developing and foreigners have succeeded in the justice system. But overall there still seems to be a bias and imbalance when it comes to foreigners vs. Thais, so better avoid.

You also don't have to worry about "the Thai mafia", as long as you're not getting involved with them (which most decent people won't).

Thais are generally very welcoming, tolerant, and peaceful people. Live and let live, as long as everyone keeps a low profile, doesn't act loud or obnoxious or fucks others off. It's not the place to be a Karen. It's a place to be chill and friendly.

That doesn't mean that you can't show off your wealth. It's part of the Asian culture to show off. People pile up debt just to make face by amassing status symbols. I would probably keep the assets abroad and only transfer when and as needed though.

You can't buy land and I wouldn't try any workarounds someone is offering. (There seems to be a change of laws though for foreigners investing 1m USD to buy land)

 

[Spinat]

Thais are generally very welcoming, tolerant, and peaceful people.

You're living there?

Anyway, yes there is a Thai Mafia, same as in Italy, Russia, Bulgaria and many other countries. If you stay out of trouble and don't do dump things you won't realize they are there.

 

[financenick]

You're living there?

Yes, I am.

 

[Paul77]

I can say that mafia is everywhere in any country you can think of. The more disturbing part of it is if the mafia is interconnected with the government or LE. I heared it is a problem in Thailand and some people moved to Malaysia where they feel safer. Any thoughts on that?

 

[financenick]

Any thoughts on that?

Yes, as I wrote above: it’s nonsense to worry about this unless you’re planning to do dodgy things or get otherwise involved with the wrong people.

What foreign retirees should worry about is:

(1) having enough money, especially for health insurance/healthcare;

(2) getting a proper long term visa (point (1) will help with that);

(3) not fucking with the locals. The most common mistakes are probably: (a) doing illegal stuff (especially drugs, fraud), (b) dodgy investments, (c) being an entitled western Karen who can’t keep their mouth shut, especially with regards to local affairs (politics, monarchy), and (d) inviting trashy people into your life (usually this happens when the lonely retiree makes hookers or psycho chicks his gf or wife or knocks one up);

(4) loneliness and lack of quality social interaction/network/friends (which makes them more prone to point (3)).

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

I heard so much about Thai mafia ....if some rich expat want to settle in Thailand...if he worry about the mafia.

What are your thoughts?
Any update on Thai expat put light on this??

If by "mafia", you mean organized crimes with local affiliated "Gangs" yes, there are! same with Malaysia or any country really.
but if "mafia", you mean Hollywood-style mafias, then no.

here's the thing, in order to succeed in any foreign country, you need to make connections with affluent local people, attend local events, local charities, donate here and there, get your name out there, go to linkedin/meetup.com and see if there are local events near you, like this one: Bangkok Enterprise Blockchain (Bangkok, Thailand) for example ( P.S. I have no affiliation with this event whatsover). this is a blockchain event where you will find all sort of people including thai businessmen, and so on.

When I was young and hustling, that's where I started, but we didn't have these tools back then, we have to do some leg work on the ground to get to know people, nowadays, it's way easier, and if you are bold enough, the world is your oyster.
I found the best place to do this, was Dubai, every day, you will find events at every corner, my inbox is filled with plenty of invitations for local events (online and offline), taxation Events, banking events, crypto events, charity events, investment events, startup events....you name it.

So, go there, get to know people and make connections, and see where life will take you from there.

Good luck!

 

[khinkali]

One big difference between Thailand and a lot of other places, is that a lot of corruption happens at a very low level. The cop stopping cars for phantom speeding and white line crossing, threatening to issue a ticket but walking off with a few $. The immigration office where it takes multiple visits and a lot of hassle for a simple visa renewal, but a lawyer can get it done in a few days with no hassle for a few hundred $ donation. The bars that can operate outside legal times, etc., who give some $ each month. The cop in Patong who arrested someone for carrying drugs, demanded a few hundred $ to release them unofficially and once outside the police station, offered to sell them back their own drugs.

Obviously if you get involved with criminal groups then you can end up in a lot of trouble (with them, their enemies and the cops - also friendly and enemy cops). But life for most people isn't like that. If you're a law abiding resident then it's fine.

Personally I couldn't stand the bureaucracy. The red tape, multiple copies of things, having to get the deeds to your landlord's house to renew a work visa. I wouldn't want to start a business there, but if your finances are simple (passive income from abroad, not remitted in the same year) then Thailand is a really nice option as long as you're respectful to locals.

 

[Paul77]

Fantastic information. Very helpful. By reading it, I could say most of this could be transferred to all other third world countries which I have been to and live in. Compared to the limited, restricted, overregulated way of life in any of the first world countries its only a small dent in ones lifestyle.