BANGKOK – Thirteen foreign nationals accused of operating a boiler room scam in central Thailand aimed at Australians were ordered to stay in custody after their appearance at Bangkok’s Criminal Court on Wednesday.
The group includes five Australians, six Britons, one Canadian and one South African. They are charged with running a criminal organization, working without valid permits, and breaking immigration rules.
Police arrested the suspects on Tuesday during a raid at an upscale home in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district, which served as their boiler room headquarters. Authorities allege they tricked 14 Australians into buying fake bonds, causing losses of around 40 billion baht.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), which worked with Thai police on the case, said the arrests only scratched the surface. According to the AFP, the two alleged leaders have scammed Australians out of billions over the past twenty years.
Police began their investigation in May last year after the AFP reached out to Thai officials, following the breakup of a related network in Indonesia. Investigators soon identified the two main suspects, Australian Mark Dennis, 54, and Briton Mark Howship, 56.
Both had recently moved from Pattaya to Bangkok.
Pol Col Arun Wachirasrisukanya, who led the arrest team, said Dennis and Howship regrouped their team at the Bang Phli property. The group kept a low profile, covering the house with tarps to block outside view.
During the boiler room raid, officers found a list of more than 14,000 Australian targets, along with computers and other communication gear. Some members of the group gave statements to police, saying even though only 14 people had been conned so far, they aimed to expand their operations.
Investigators believe the leaders planned to scam Australians out of $54 million (about 2 billion baht) by the end of the year.
The other 11 people arrested were named as Brett Peter Dawson, 51, of Australia; Lewis Samuel Gillespie, 30, of the UK; Nicholas John Mason, 43, of Australia; Ellis Ian James, 59, of the UK; Mark Mackenzie, 61, of the UK; Jeremy Fortoen, 44, of South Africa; Christopher Pepena, 48, of Australia; Dean Crowley, 42, of the UK; Lewis Robbie, 40, of the UK; Luke Cameron Campbell, 45, of Australia; and Szeto Kwok Chi, 58, of Canada.
Source: AFP
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