BANGKOK – Cyber police have arrested ten people and seized 400,000 baht in cash after uncovering a mule account network linked to online scams during a raid at a shopping centre in Lat Phrao.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) acted after learning that a Vietnamese group was hiring Thai brokers to recruit residents to open bank accounts, according to Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewpan, the head of the CCIB. These accounts handled funds moved through online fraud, including false gold trading deals.
Those who opened accounts received between 3,000 and 5,000 baht for each one, then withdrew the cash from bank counters or ATMs and handed it to Vietnamese organizers running the operation. The crackdown followed discreet tracking of a meeting between the Vietnamese network and Thai brokers at the mall’s food court.
Officers watched as group members took out money and gave it to the Vietnamese collectors. When police closed in, Nguyen Xuan Tung tried to flee with a black bag, but dropped it while crossing Phahon Yothin Road. Inside the bag, officers found 400,000 baht in banknotes.
The police detained nine others in the shopping mall. This group included five Vietnamese nationals, two Thai brokers and two Thais who opened accounts. Nguyen Ngoc Thuc, a Vietnamese man, has been identified as the leader behind the network.
He reportedly worked with both Thai and Vietnamese brokers, instructing other Vietnamese operatives to accompany account holders during cash withdrawals.
Among those in custody is a Vietnamese woman who said she changed the baht to Vietnamese dong and used electronic transfers to send the money to partners overseas. Investigators believe the group tricked many Thais into making transfers to these mule accounts as part of their scams.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong said the arrests had stopped a major foreign-run money laundering group operating within Thailand. Those arrested face several charges, such as joining a transnational criminal group, arranging and handling mule accounts for online crime, and breaking the Computer Crime Act, along with other laws.
Cyber Police Arrest Scam Gang Members
Meanwhile, the cyber police arrested two men linked to a Chinese scam gang, who sent fake SMS messages with phishing links across several busy areas of Bangkok. The pair reportedly used equipment concealed inside their vehicle, sending texts designed to trick people into following fraudulent links, which drained their bank accounts.
The operation, named “Operation Khao San”, was detailed by the Cyber Police during a briefing attended by Advanced Info Service (AIS) representatives. Cyber Police named the two suspects as Nopparat Wetchakama and Mangkon Fuku.
The pair were arrested in a white Suzuki Ertiga after investigators tracked suspicious SMS activity in central Bangkok. In the car, officers found electronic devices powered by a portable battery, which police believe sent out the scam messages.
Police say the men confessed to being recruited by a Chinese organizer who supplied the necessary tools, offered instructions and paid them daily to drive around Bangkok while sending between 5,000 and 10,000 scam messages each day.
The scam messages often pretended to be from banks and finance companies. The suspects said they earned an initial daily rate above 3,000 baht, but later moved to using rental cars, which paid less and were organized by their Chinese employer.
Both now face charges of using telecom equipment without a proper permit, illegally using radio frequencies, fraud involving computers and deceiving the public. Cyber Police continue to look for the Chinese mastermind and are checking for links to other call-centre gangs previously dismantled in Thailand.