Fourteen Chinese suspects have been arrested for providing online gambling services at a hotel in Huai Khwang district of Bangkok.
According to a police source, the raid took place in the hotel after police received a tip-off from the "Stop Walk Talk" programme launched by Makkasan police station to look into apartments and accommodations that might be harbouring foreign nationals illegally.
Makkasan police learned that a group of Chinese had rented six rooms in a hotel in the Rama IX area in Huai Khwang district since last August.
The group reportedly brought multiple laptops into the rooms. They instructed housekeepers not to clean some of the rooms. The investigators also found many computer desktops and dozens of mobile phones.
Police have for some time suspected the group was operating gambling services out of the hotel. After gathering evidence, warrants were approved to search the rooms on Tuesday.
Police found 14 Chinese nationals, including a woman, in the rooms. Seized as evidence were 20 laptops and computer desktops, 25 mobile phones, as well as cash in various currencies, including 265,950 baht, 11,746 yuan, 8,000 yen and US$407.
The group was running an illegal online gambling operation via Chinese online gaming platforms that involved over–under or over/under (O/U) bets conducted in Chinese yuan, earning an estimated 2 million yuan (9 million baht) per day.
The Chinese suspects, who entered Thailand without a work permit and earned around 1,400 baht per day from running the gambling services, were being questioned.
They were charged with colluding in persuading others to gamble which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to 2,000 baht or both under Section 12 of Gambling Act; possessing, concealing or distributing goods without paying proper customs fees, an offence which can result in up to five years in prison, a fine of four times the item's value, or both, under Section 246 of Customs Act; and working without a permit which carries a fine ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 baht.
All were taken to Makkasan police station for legal proceedings.
