Dead 'darknet' owner loved Thailand (updated)

Canadian Alexandre Cazes, who committed suicide after this arrest, was a hacker at age 14 with an IQ of 142 and loved Thailand, police said on Monday.

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Evening update

Late computer genius, AlphaBay creator loved Thailand

Online reporters

Canadian Alexandre Cazes was a hacker at age 14 with an IQ of 142, the founder of the 200,000-member illicit trading site AlphaBay, and a longtime resident of Thailand, the country he loved, before his arrest and suicide, police said on Monday.

Senior police officers held a press conference at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau to elaborate on Cazes, who was found dead in a Bureau cell in Bangkok on July 12.

Pol Lt Gen Sommai Kongwisaisuk, the NSB commissioner, said that Cazes was born in Ottawa, Canada, on Oct 19, 1991, and was an only child. He finished high school in Canada as a computer science wizard recognised for his advanced programming skills, and had an intelligence quotient of 142.

According to the commissioner, Cazes became a hacker at the age of 14. Based on his love for computer games, he entered the field of e-commerce, and soon made a fortune.

But later, he turned from legitimate trading into transnational crime. He created the AlphaBay website in 2014 for trade in illicit goods including narcotics and firearms.

The site used Bitcoin (one Bitcoin is about 90,000 baht) as its currency both for its members' convenience and its protection from official oversight.

He first visited Thailand in 2010. He loved its beautiful traditions, culture and landscape. He married a Thai woman and had one child.

Last year he married another Thai woman, his last wife Sunisa Thepsuwan, whom he met on a matchmaking website. He learned Thai, and became proficient; his abilities were on a par with Grade 6 students, Pol Lt Gen Sommai said.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Chalermkiat Sriworakhan said the couple lived in the Private House housing estate on Phutthamonthon Sai 3 Road in Thawi Watthana district.

Neither had a legitimate job, he said, but enjoyed a luxury lifestyle and owned a wide range of properties worth hundreds of millions of baht.

Morning story

9 nations join probe into 'darknet' site

Wassayos Ngamkham

The Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) chief insisted Sunday that a probe into AlphaBay, an online marketplace that authorities say traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods, has progressed.

The NSB said many more suspects will be arrested soon. Pol Lt Gen Sommai Kongwisaisuk said a press briefing about the progress of the investigation will be held Monday even though a Canadian man believed to be the mastermind behind AlphaBay was found hanged inside a cell at the NSB on July 12.

Officials have said Alexandre Cazes hanged himself while in police custody just before a scheduled court hearing.

The investigation known as the "Operation Bayonet" is being carried out by authorities from nine nations – the United States, Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Cypus, Lithuania and Thailand, he said.

Many groups of offenders from various countries around the world traded through the website by using a digital currency.

Pol Lt Gen Sommai said due to the progress of the investigation, the US Department of Justice shut down AlphaBay last Thursday.

Police in the US and Europe, including the FBI, DEA, and the Dutch National Police, partnered to close the site. The site is believed to have allowed thousands of vendors to sell illegal drugs. Europol said there were 250,000 listings on AlphaBay alone, with 200,000 members and 40,000 vendors.

Alexandre Cazes had four luxury cars and three Thailand homes seized after he was arrested on July 5 by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau at his home at Phutthamonthon Sai 3, Thawi Watthana district.. He committed suicide on July 12. (Facebook photo)

Pol Lt Gen Sommai said that when Thailand was contacted by the US, it joined the Bayonet operation and found that Cazes, 26, from Canada, who was accused of masterminding AlphaBay, described as the world's leading "darknet" site, lived in Thailand for six years.

Pol Lt Gen Sommai said his police team had sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges against Cazes when they arrested him earlier this month.

He said his 700-million-baht assets believed to have been acquired illegally from online trade were also seized and his Thai wife, Sunisa Thepsuwan, was also suspected of being involved in the operation.

"We are trying to seek more evidence to substantiate charges against his wife. We suspect she may be involved with the drug trade and money laundering," he said.

According to NSB information, authorities have sought the forfeiture of Cazes' properties in Bangkok and Phuket and his bank accounts. His assets include high-value cars, including a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Mini Cooper and a motorbike.

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