Crime

Chinese Arrested in Fake Gold Scam With 200 Fake Ingots

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2023

Bchcomber

Six Chinese men have been apprehended with about 200 fake gold ingots after allegedly duping wealthy businessman in Chinatown into purchasing fake gold for 10 million baht.

Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), reported yesterday that the six Chinese nationals were apprehended in front of Hua Lamphong railway station in the Rong Muang area of Pathumwan district on Monday on charges of colluding in theft and criminal association.

Chinese nationals,. Zhong Xiaocong, 44, Li Xiaoyuan, 45, Zeng Nanjing, 54, Yang Cuiyuan, 51, Zhu Zhihua, 48, and Guo Xianyu, 49 were arrested by Bangkok Metropolitan police officers.

According to police, 179 phony gold bars, 10 fake gold statues, 8 thin sheets of genuine gold, 46 books belonging to a Chinese association in Thailand, 24 ATM cards, 12 mobile phones, and goldsmiths tools were also seized.

The suspects were members of the “Mangkorn Jiangxi” [Jiangxi Dragon] gang who reportedly defrauded Thais of Chinese heritage in Chinatown of approximately ten million baht.

The suspects discovered their victims in a book that listed the names of Thai-Chinese ancestors. They chose rich people and then called them using the same techniques as call scam gangs. According to Pol Maj Gen Teeradej, the group previously worked as phone fraudsters in Indonesia.

The gang mixed real gold with fake gold and used the former as proof of validity. The accused claimed to hold a gold mining concession in Ayutthaya province to their victims.

The arrests were made in response to a complaint filed by a Chinese businessman of Thai nationality who claimed he was duped out of 500,000 baht by a Chinese gang into purchasing gold that turned out to be phony.

Police investigations discovered that the group had used a similar ruse to defraud other victims. To lure them into the trap, the gang displayed numerous gold bars and sliced one into small pieces that the victims could inspect for authenticity.

The authenticity of the samples had been validated by gold merchants. The gang departed when the money was paid. The victims only discovered the gold was fake after they had gone.

The charges were disputed by all of the suspects. They told authorities they were from Jiangxi in China, but they later acknowledged to working for a phone fraud ring in Indonesia before travelling to Thailand. The suspects were handed over to authorities for further investigation.

Fake Gold Scams Thailand

Fake gold, also known as counterfeit gold, refers to any material that is made to look like real gold but is not actually made of genuine gold. Fake gold can be made from a variety of materials, including copper, brass, tungsten, and even plastic.

There are several reasons why someone might create fake gold. One reason is to deceive people into paying a higher price for a product than it is worth. Another reason is to create counterfeit gold coins or jewelry that can be sold to unsuspecting buyers.

To avoid purchasing fake gold, it is important to work with reputable dealers and to have any gold items you are considering purchasing authenticated by a professional appraiser or testing facility. Additionally, you can use a magnet to test whether an item is made of genuine gold. Real gold is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks to an item that is supposed to be gold, it is likely fake.

Unfortunately, fake gold scams are frequent in Thailand, particularly in tourist regions where scammers may try to take advantage of naïve visitors. Scammers may attempt to sell fake gold jewellery or bars at exorbitant prices, typically claiming that the items are of excellent quality or rare.

It is critical to take some precautions to prevent being a victim of a fake gold scam in Thailand or anyplace else. These could include:

1. Only purchase gold from trustworthy merchants or stores you can trust. Before making a purchase, research the store or dealer and look for reviews or ratings from prior customers.

2. Have the gold assessed or examined by an expert to ensure its genuineness. There are various methods for determining the authenticity of gold, including utilising a magnet or doing an acid test.

3. Avoid deals that appear to be too good to be true. If you are offered gold at a much cheaper price than the market rate, it is most certainly a forgery.

4. Be wary of strangers who approach you on the street and attempt to sell you gold. In many situations, these people are con artists attempting to take advantage of travellers.

5. Apply common sense and trust your intuition. If something seems strange or makes you feel uneasy, walk away and avoid making a transaction.

You can help protect yourself from falling victim to a fake gold scam in Thailand or elsewhere by taking these steps and remaining vigilant.

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Published

7 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Contents

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Published

7 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourist

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Contents

Police called to home invasion Other Bangkok News:Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

Published

7 months ago

July 17, 2024

Thomas3940

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Contents

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.