Thai police raid luxury home in Chiang Mai, nab 17 foreigners over alleged US$14 million scam operation
The police raided a luxury pool villa in Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai province that served as a base for the operations, said the Thai Provincial Police Region 5, which oversees the country's northern provinces, in a Facebook post.
Thai nationals allegedly served as nominees in the purchase of the house to cover up the illegal scam activities, said Krittapon Yisakorn, Commander of Provincial Police Region 5, as reported by Thai news outlets.
Krittapon led a multi-agency task force that included officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, Immigration Police, intelligence analysts and specialised equipment units in the raid, where 10 computers and 26 mobile phones were seized as evidence.
The foreigners nabbed were 15 Chinese nationals and two Myanmar citizens.
Initial investigations found that over 100,000 Chinese victims had fallen prey to the call-centre syndicate and lost over 100 million Chinese yuan (US$14 million), the Thai Provincial Police Region 5 said.
The alleged Chinese scammers were in Thailand on tourist and student visas, while the Myanmar nationals did not have immigration documents, the Thai government's Public Relations Department said in a report on its website.
The 17 suspects have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the public and participation in organised crime, reported news site Khaosod.
According to local media reports, Tuesday's raid followed investigations that found the scam network had expanded by purchasing or renting premises in housing estates, hotels and condominiums across northern Thailand.
The scammers then set up telecommunication systems and lured Chinese nationals living abroad to gamble online or visit casinos in neighbouring countries, Bangkok Post reported.
Thailand reportedly became a central hub for coordinating these schemes via social media and other telecom platforms.
Thai authorities are coordinating with the Chinese consulate for further information and will launch an investigation to identify accomplices and related networks involved in the scam operation, the public relations department said.
Similar arrests have been made in recent months in Chiang Mai.
In December last year, Thai Cyber Police uncovered a Chinese scam network operating a call centre targeting Thai victims from the luxury Baan Klang Doi Resort, also in Hang Dong district, local media reported.
Last November, Thai authorities raided 11 rented houses in Muang, San Sai and San Kamphaeng districts of Chiang Mai in what was called the "biggest raid of call scam equipment" in the country.
Parts of Southeast Asia, especially the border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, have become a hub for online fraud activities since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in these scam centres. Many are foreigners and some were themselves tricked into scamming.
Public pressure has been building in Thailand for the authorities to crack down on scam compounds, where workers are often treated brutally.
Scam operations are also a concern of China's government, especially following the high-profile kidnapping in January of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was lured to a Myanmar scam compound when visiting Thailand.
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