He was referring to complaints of the alleged acceptance of up to Bt100 million in bribes linked to officers who allegedly failed to arrest 142 visa-overstaying foreigners for deportation, as well as alleged extortion by demanding monthly bribes from local business operators.

Sucart said the recent transfer of 10 Phuket-based policemen to the Royal Thai Police Operations Command Centre in Bangkok was part of this corruption probe.

He said the officers’ supervisors at the Immigration Police Bureau, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division and Provincial Police Region 8 would appoint appropriate officers to fill in for the transferred officers.

If the transferred officers were deemed not guilty of the accusations, they would be sent back to their previous positions, he said.

The ongoing probe would take some time as the committee members needed to check all information, including testimonies from business operators and police officers, and review other evidence, Suchart said.

While he could not provide further information to the reporters now, he would provide an update on progress in the investigation.

An earlier news report had suggested that four of the transferred officers were moved from the Patong police station amid allegations that their recent crackdown on a restaurant in the popular tourist town had affected the business of certain police officers in Bangkok.