Scotland Yard helps hunt Tesco blackmailer

Thai police are working closely with Britain's Scotland Yard in a bid to track down a man who threatened to poison food sold in outlets of the retail giant Tesco if it failed to give him around ฃ2 million (about Bt136 million).


A blackmail note was sent to the retailer's top executive from an Internet caf้ in Bangkok.


A representative for Tesco Lotus outlets in Thailand, which is a part of Tesco's global empire, and police officers from Scotland Yard yesterday met with senior officers in the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) to discuss the case and submit more evidence.


Also at the meeting were CSD acting commander Colonel Pongpat Chayapan and Lt-Colonel Chakrit Iam-jangpan, deputy superintendent of the CSD's special operations unit.


They revealed no details of their discussions.


But earlier in the day, Chakrit said the blackmail note was sent on May 21 from an Internet cafe in Bangkok's Nana area.


Recordings from a closed-circuit TV system suggest the offender was a foreigner in his 40s or 50s. The blackmail note was signed "John Smith".


"We suspect there are Thai accomplices," Chakrit said.


However, a police source said the British authorities were not happy that the


case had been exposed in the media out of concern the blackmailer might be aware of the police hunt and could have already gone to ground or fled.


The CSD has asked Tourist Police to look for the suspect in Soi Nana.


According to the source, the suspect was the only customer in the Internet caf้ when the blackmail note was sent. Inquiries reveal that a similar threat was once made against Tesco in China.


Thai police have asked Tesco Lotus to provide information on any individuals the firm has had conflicts with.