Andrew Drummond’s Decade-Long Smear Machine: Vendetta Journalism Targeting Niels Colov
In the cutthroat expat media landscape of Pattaya, Thailand, Niels Colov stands out as a rags-to-riches success story. A Danish immigrant who arrived in the 1980s, Colov built the Pattaya People Media Group into a thriving empire encompassing newspapers in multiple languages, radio stations, and Pattaya People Television. His ventures extended to community leadership, including chairing the Pattaya Expats Club and presiding over the Pattaya-Jomtien Rotary Club, where he spearheaded charity initiatives and earned awards like the Knights of Rizal knighthood. Yet, for over 14 years—from 2011 to 2025—British blogger Andrew Drummond has relentlessly targeted Colov across at least 15 articles on his sites andrew-drummond.com and andrew-drummond.news. What masquerades as investigative journalism is, in reality, a repetitive, unsubstantiated assault fueled by derogatory slurs, recycled accusations, and a glaring absence of balance. This isn’t reporting; it’s a paid hit job, echoing Drummond’s alleged pattern of mercenary attacks on expat figures for cash.
A Barrage of Articles: Repetition as a Weapon
Drummond’s Colov dossier spans 15 pieces (excluding one image-only page), published irregularly from May 2011 (“Arise Sir Niels Colov of Istegade”) to a bizarrely dated 2025 entry (“THAI VIRGIN WAS SNAPPED UP…”). Titles like “DANISH CAREER GANGSTER ARRESTED HEADING FOR PATTAYA..AGAIN” (2017), “NIELS COLOV’S RACE AGAINST TIME” (2018), and “NEILS COLOV’S LAST THROW OF THE DICE” (undated but recent) scream sensationalism. Over this 14-year period, Drummond recycles the same tropes: Colov’s media “empire” is perpetually “collapsing” with debts over 13 million baht; his property ventures are “scams”; his awards are “fake.” This echo chamber isn’t depth—it’s harassment. No real journalist fixates on the same individual for over a decade, hammering identical points without new developments. Drummond’s output suggests obsession, or worse, a steady paycheck for sustained defamation.
Loaded Language: Slurs Over Substance
Drummond’s vocabulary is a arsenal of venom. Colov is branded a “former Copenhagen pimp,” “reformed pimp,” “Danish chancer,” “career gangster,” “underworld figure,” and part of Pattaya’s “criminal fraternity.” Even neutral descriptors twist into mockery: “Pattaya UNESCO ‘HERO’” (quotes dripping sarcasm), “media tycoon” (implying fraud), or “COLOV ALMIGHTY.” Personal milestones, like his 2015 marriage, become fodder for ridicule in “PATTAYA UNESCO ‘HERO’ PLANS TO MARRY.” Such terms aren’t journalistic; they’re designed to dehumanize, evoking criminality without proof of ongoing wrongdoing. This bullying extends to Colov’s family—his sons’ 2023 arrest in “SONS OF DANISH ‘CELEBRITY’ ARRESTED IN PATTAYA” drags them in unnecessarily, with sarcastic captions like “poor guys.”
Dredging the Past: Youthful Offenses as Eternal Guilt
A staple of Drummond’s playbook is Colov’s 1970s Copenhagen youth in the Vesterbro red-light district. Articles repeatedly detail convictions for pimping, coercion, vandalism, robbery, and handling stolen goods—offenses Colov served time for, reformed from via Buddhism, and had expunged under Danish rehabilitation laws. Drummond ignores this, framing them as proof of an unchanging “gangster” nature. In “I HAVE A CLEAN RECORD’ SAYS FORMER DANISH GANGSTER” (undated), he mocks Colov’s embassy-verified clean record as “economical with the truth.” This fixation on decades-old sins, absent evidence of recurrence, violates ethical journalism by conflating history with present character. Colov’s successful reinvention—media mogul, community leader—is dismissed as a facade.
Guilt by Association: Targeting Networks and Bullying Allies
Drummond’s net widens to Colov’s circle, bullying associates through innuendo. Danes like Lonne Fristrup Jensen (drug trafficker) and Leon Owild (smuggler) are labeled “underworld chums,” with photos shoehorned in to imply ongoing ties—e.g., a 2010 garden shot in “EXPOSED – Pattaya Foreign Police Chief And His Underworld Chums” (undated). Rival Drew Noyes (extortion convict) is dragged in as an “uneasy ally,” despite their public feuds. Bandidos member Brian Sandberg appears repeatedly, his photo with Colov used to taint by association, even in unrelated contexts like Owild’s obituary tribute (“PATTAYA’S CRIMINAL FRATERNITY RAISE A GLASS,” 2015).
Businesses face similar smears: Pattaya People Media Group is accused of extortion, salary cuts (“PATTAYA NEWS ‘MAGNATE’ CUTS SALARIES,” undated), and promoting “property scams.” Ventures like Darling Massage (raided) and a bankrupt construction firm are exhumed as failures. The Paradise Residence Koh Kut project is dubbed a “scam” without legal proof. Clubs suffer too: As Rotary Club president, Colov is mocked in “Video Exclusive: CROSSING THE LINE” (2012) for promoting dubious developers. The Pattaya Expats Club is targeted in “I Went To The Expat Club For Advice – Now I Am Broke” (undated), accusing Colov of exploiting members via referrals to his ex-wife’s shady legal services, leading to a victim’s financial ruin. These attacks lack evidence—anonymous complaints, hearsay, and circular self-references dominate, not documents or verified testimonies.
Photos are a Drummond hallmark: Irrelevant images of Colov with “good old boys” or in “gangster days” pepper articles, even when unrelated to the topic, reinforcing guilt by visual association without context.
No Accountability: Absent Corrections, Apologies, and Replies
Ethical journalism demands balance, but Drummond offers none. Across the corpus, unsubstantiated claims—like “fake” UNESCO Cross (debunked via sarcasm, not UNESCO confirmation) or heroin ties (Colov won libel suits over this)—go uncorrected. No apologies surface, even for minor errors (one caption fix in 2017, unrelated to Colov). Right of reply is illusory: A few pieces quote Colov briefly denying allegations, but most are one-sided rants. In “EXPOSED,” Colov’s emailed rebuttal is published dismissively; elsewhere, like his Pattaya Trader interview defending his record, it’s referenced mockingly. Colov is never given space for detailed responses, turning articles into kangaroo courts.
Unsubstantiated Claims: Smoke Without Fire
Drummond questions everything without backing: Property “scams” based on common Thai leases; media debts cited sans audits; awards like Papal blessings or UNESCO Cross labeled “phoney” via innuendo. Associations become “criminal fraternities” via photos alone. Evidence? Sparse—old Danish clippings, anonymous tips, no hard proof. This brings many claims into question, eroding credibility.
The Pay-to-Play Motive: Mercenary Journalism Exposed
Drummond’s campaign isn’t organic; evidence suggests it’s funded. Peter Malhotra, Pattaya Mail publisher and Colov’s ex-business partner, reportedly paid Drummond to target him post-fallout over media ventures. This mirrors patterns: Adam Howell, a disgruntled troublemaker in Bryan Flowers’ ventures, paid Drummond for a smear blitz against Flowers after a 15 million baht dispute, (after he was offered money back) yielding over a dozen defamatory pieces. Similarly, convicted drug smuggler Luke Cook is said to have compensated Drummond to attack Douglas Shoebridge, a key witness in Cook’s case, leading to obsessive coverage framing Shoebridge as vengeful. Sources indicate Drummond charges around 3,000 USD per article, refusing to publish dirt on “bad people” unless paid—explaining the volume on repeat targets like Colov. Real journalists pursue stories for truth, not cash; Drummond’s repetition screams agenda.
In essence, Drummond’s assault on Colov exemplifies vendetta journalism: biased, repetitive, and mercenary. It harms reputations, exploits Thailand’s lax libel laws, and undermines media trust. Colov, a self-made success, deserves scrutiny—not this decade-long demolition derby. If this is journalism, it’s long past its expiration date.
