Crime

Thai Immigration Arrests 5 Chinese Nationals for Illegal Money Lending

Published

2 years ago

April 13, 2023

Bchcomber

Thai Immigration Arrested 5 Chinese Nationals

Immigration police in central Thailand have arrested five Chinese nationals for illegally operating an internet money lending service from a luxury house in Pattaya, Chonburi.

On Tuesday night, local, immigration, and tourist police raided a luxury house in tambon Nong Prue in Bang Lamung district after investigations determined that Chinese nationals suspected of illicit business stayed there.

On the first floor, there were five Chinese people, four males and one woman aged 29 to 41. They were communicating with consumers in Chinese using laptop computers. Officers seized eight portable laptops, 12 mobile phones, 50 SIM cards, and a customer list of over 100 people.

Thailand’s Immigration police said the raid was carried out in response to orders from Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy national police chief, for police units across the country. Police had been ordered to coordinate their efforts and crack down on foreign nationals running illegal businesses, particularly in Pattaya town, a major tourist destination.

Investigators discovered that a group of Chinese had rented a property in Bang Lamung district for 180,000 baht per month and were suspected of running an illicit enterprise. This resulted in the police raid.

The five suspects allegedly conducted an online illicit loan service with tens of millions of baht in circulation. The gang’s 36 year-old bosstold police their clients were in China. All five had overstayed their visas.

The accused stated they had no idea what they were doing was illegal. They were turned over to Nong Pheu police for prosecution. They were thought to be part of a much wider scheme. The investigation was being expanded, according to the provincial police chief.

Extradition of Chinese Murder Suspects

Meanwhile, Thai police are in talks with China about extraditing three Chinese nationals wanted in Thailand for the kidnapping and murder of a Chinese student, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, said today (Tuesday).

Jin Can, a third-year music student at Bangkok Thonburi University, was discovered dead in a banana plantation ditch in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district on April 1st, after being abducted on March 30th by three Chinese males with the assistance of a Thai female bar employee.

On March 30th, the three Chinese nationals allegedly killed their victim after her father refused to pay them 2.5 million baht in ransom.

According to Pol Gen Surachate, the three suspects, who are currently in Chinese police custody, admitted to killing the student, while the Thai female was allegedly paid 40,000 baht by the trio for supporting them in their illegal conduct.

According to him, Thai authorities want the defendants transferred to stand trial in Thailand because the crimes were committed there.

Illegal Chinese firms targeted nationwide

Following accusations from a whistleblower, police and the Interior Ministry are looking for illegal associations that serve as fronts for illegal Chinese firms around the country.

Withan Sukkan, an interrogation director with the Department of Provincial Administration, met with Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy national police commander, on Monday to submit a complaint against unlicensed Chinese associations for alleged vested interests.

One of the targeted organisations was Yu Xinqi’s, who was recently arrested for allegedly utilising his organisation and business school to unlawfully recruit Chinese people into Thailand.

Mr Withan stated that the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration assigned him to file the complaints, one of which alleged Mr Yu’s operation of an illegal association and entry of fraudulent information into a computer system.

Mr Withan also stated that the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry directed provincial governors who were provincial association registrars to inspect local associations and take appropriate measures.

There were many false organisations like Mr Yu’s around the country, he said, and registrars could revoke them.

According to Pol Gen Surachate, Mr Yu was charged with offences involving computer systems, fundraising, and unlawful association operation. He had been banned and was about to be deported.

The deputy national police head also stated that a lese majeste complaint against Mr Yu had been received from whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit, and that police were collaborating with the Interior Ministry to combat unregistered associations.

Mr Chuvit told Pol Gen Surachate at the Nang Loeng police station on Monday that Mr Yu had used the term “the institution” to mislead Chinese people, therefore he decided to seek police to take legal action under the lese majeste statute.

Mr Chuvit said that there were 500-600 associations in Kanchanaburi province alone, along with a proxy firm of Chinese lawyers on Rama IX Road and an unlawful triad association on Srivara Road.

Crime

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

Published

4 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.

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.

Related Police News:

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

4 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.

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

5 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.

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.