Police have arrested 10 suspected members of a Thai-Chinese investment scam gang raking in billions of baht during raids in Bangkok and several provinces.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Tuesday that six Thais - four women and two men - and four Chinese men were arrested during operations in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram that began last week and continued into Monday.
The arrested suspects were identified only as Atchara, 27, Porntip, 44, Nopawit, 31, Chonlathee, 21, Pantharee, 26, Supawadee, 39, Gao, 35, Xiong, 30, Mao, 46 and Zhou, 44.
They were charged with public fraud, computer crime, money laundering and illegal assembly.
CIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said on Tuesday that they were among 32 suspects in the case. The gang comprised 10 Thai owners of mule accounts, two Chinese call scammers and 20 others who were suspected of money laundering - 14 Chinese, five Koreans and one Thai.
Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said the gang lured victims through social media by first offering online work involving clicking “likes”. Once they had earned some money doing that job they were invited to make an investment, with promised returns of 30-50%. Upon signing up, they received promised returns for only a short time, and then heard nothng more.
One victim filed a fraud complaint with police in February last year and that was when the investigation began.
Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, said that five of the 10 arrested suspects were allegedly responsible for money laundering and five others opened mule accounts. Police had impounded assets held by them worth 14 million baht for examination, including land title deeds, luxury watches and bags.
Ms Atchara and four Chinese suspects denied public fraud charges but admitted that they exchanged cryptocurrency for cash for Chinese people doing illicit business.
Pol Maj Gen Athip quoted Ms Atchara as saying that she had started laundering money for illicit Chinese businesses in 2023 and her group had received USDT stablecoins (tether) worth 6.5 billion baht as part of the exchange service. The gang converted and withdrew 2.9 billion baht, and spent the money buying properties.
Pol Maj Gen Athip said the gang had Thai proxies set up about 10 front companies to own the properties.
- Lucky draws -
Also on Tuesday, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said police had arrested three Chinese men for operating Luckking Co, which invited people to buy into lucky draws and then stole their personal information.
The company was based in the Sermsub Building on Ratchadaphisek Road in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok. It had stolen money and personal data from about 88,000 people. They sold the information to call scam gangs, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said.
He named two of the Chinese suspects as Ye Wanyou, 29, and Li Weijie, 30. Both were arrested at a gated housing estate near Ratchadaphisek Road on Feb 5.
They were suspected of running a call scam gang in Poipet, Cambodia, and smuggling people out of Thailand through Mae Sot district of Tak, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said.
The third suspect was identified as Zhang Hongxiang. He was arrested at the Sermsub Building on Tuesday.
Bangkok police search Luckking Co in Huai Khwang district, Bangkok, on Tuesday. (Police photo)
