The impeccable career of Big Joke, a Thai police figure well known in Spain for his role in the Daniel Sancho case, may not be as exemplary as it seems. Recent investigations into an alleged bribe of 3.6 million euros have put Big Joke in the spotlight, which has been quick to stop any type of rumor by giving its version of the events.
The deputy police chief, whose real name is Surachate Hakparn, has seen his career come into question in just a few hours. But he is calm because he considers that there is nothing against him and that everything is about internal conflicts within the police.
Regarding the raid, Big Joke has questioned the legality of the court order that authorized it. According to him, the document only contains the number of his house, without any other information that directly relates it to the property: "It is well known that the house is mine and that I usually stay there. So that is why I say that the court was deceived." .
Certain of his innocence, he has commissioned a legal team to investigate the validity of the order. "I believe that those who requested the order before the court deceived them," the senior official insisted. Even so, and despite trying to prevent the raid from being carried out, he has shown himself to be cooperative, something that he believes is a sign of transparency: "They are not going to find anything."
The search of Big Joke's home was carried out by the head of the cybercrime police, an area in which Big Joke has no operations. He retired from this field in 2019 after an assassination attempt and his work had focused on physical crimes, particularly the closure of illegal casinos.
Although he has not been arrested, 30 of his subordinates have been for alleged bribes from illegal gambling magnate Pongsiri Thanratchawongsu, known as Boss Than. The latter had been arrested three months ago and was also the owner of the Lamphun Warriors football club, as part of his money laundering activities.
While Big Joke remains at large, his position on his arrested subordinates is uncompromising. "If they are really involved in online gambling, they have to confess and be punished, since they are all subject to the same laws," he said.
It remains to be seen if this series of events will in any way affect Daniel Sancho's case. There is currently no certainty as to whether recent investigations will have any influence on the situation of Sancho, who remains in Koh Samui prison.
