DSI summons Kla Tham MP over online gambling probe

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has issued a summons for Kla Tham Party MP for Songkhla province, Chonnapat Naksua, to report to the DSI next Wednesday to acknowledge charges in connection with an online gambling platform.

DSI sources say that, if the MP fails to show up, a second summons will be issued on March 19. If, however, parliament is in session by then, he could claim immunity and police will have to wait until the parliamentary session ends, unless permission from the House speaker is obtained.

In November last year, the DSI and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) impounded Chonnapat’s assets, worth about 159 million baht, which are suspected to be linked to the online gambling network.

Yesterday, AMLO officials and Cybercrime Division officers raided ten locations in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Songkhla provinces to search for evidence related to the online gambling platform. One woman, alleged to be a platform administrator, was taken into police custody.

One of the locations searched was Chonnapat’s house in Sathing Phra district of Songkhla.

Pol Col Khemachart Prakaihongmanee, director of the Cybercrime Division, said the operations yesterday were related to a special case involving the same online gambling platform busted by police in 2023, implicating a politician whom he declined to name.

Thirty-six individuals have been charged and some of them have since been convicted, he added.

On February 27, police investigators sought warrants from the Criminal Court for the arrests of 25 suspects, including Chonnapat.

A two-time MP for Songkhla, Chonnapat reported to the Office of the Secretariat of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

When asked about Chonnapat, Kla Tham advisory chairman Thammanat Prompao said the party has nothing to do with the MP’s personal affairs.

The online gambling operations were alleged to have amassed about one billion baht in revenue before being broken up by police.