Suspect in Kamnan Nok bid-rigging ring arrested

Woman reportedly purchased bidding documents for network of corrupt construction firms and officials

NAKHON SAWAN – A woman suspected of involvement in a bid-rigging network linked to the notorious “Kamnan Nok” has been arrested at her home in Muang district, police said on Friday.

The suspect, identified only as Ms Wipa, was detained under an arrest warrant issued by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in November last year.

Police said the arrest was part of an investigation into firms allegedly connected to Praween Chankhlai, also known as Kamnan Nok, a former sub-district chief and influential figure in Nakhon Pathom province.

Based on the investigation, the network secured more than 1,500 public construction projects between 2012 and 2023, siphoning off billions of baht. Ms Wipa’s role allegedly involved purchasing bidding documents.

Praween was sentenced in January 2025 to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of a highway police officer during a dinner party at his residence in September 2023.

The slaying — stemming from an argument over a police promotion — took place in full view of several other officers, many of whom were subsequently jailed for making no effort to stop or arrest the gunman.

The Department of Special Investigation has said that the bidding racket involved three coordinated groups: beneficiaries who secured government contracts, organisers who arranged the bid-rigging, and recipients of illicit payments — many of them linked to local political networks.