The administrator of a child pornography website has been arrested in Chiang Mai.
Officers from the police and the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (Ticac) unit apprehended Korakot Chulthong at a condominium on Thung Hotel Road, Thai media reported on Saturday. They also seized three mobile phones, a laptop computer, two portable drives, some bank books and ATM cards.
Mr Korakot, 24, was wanted on charges of possessing child pornographic materials for sexual and commercial purposes and inputting pornographic data into a computer system accessible by other people.
The arrest followed complaints from parents and members of the public that an online group on the VK social media platform with 800 members and more than 200,000 followers was distributing video clips featuring sexual acts involving Thai children and foreigners.
VK (VKontakte) is a Russian social media and networking service. It is available in numerous languages but is mainly used by Russian-speakers. With more than 500 million accounts, it is the 12th most visited website in the world.
Ticac investigators found the group had been created in Russia and later bought by Thai investors, with Mr Korakot serving as an administrator. Reviews of more than 100 porn clips were posted on the group. Those who wanted to watch uncensored clips had to pay membership fees of 300 baht each.
Police posing as customers transferred membership fees to the administrator and later tracked the suspect to the condominium in Chiang Mai.
The suspect initially confessed to the charges, saying he had been running the site for about one year, officers said.
