BANGKOK – Immigration police arrested a Chinese man wanted in China for a major scam case on Tuesday evening at Suvarnabhumi airport as he tried to leave Thailand with a fake Mexican passport.
The suspect, identified only as Huang, 44, held a valid Thailand Privilege Visa, but was travelling on a Mexican passport under the name Gol, according to Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimpadee, deputy commander of the Immigration Bureau. Police did not reveal his intended destination.
Officers checked his records and found that he was using a Mexican passport because he was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. He was listed as a key member of a Chinese scam network.
Immigration police learned from the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok that Mr Huang fled China in 2020 through an informal border route in Yunnan province, then entered Myanmar.
From 2022 to 2024, police say he worked with a criminal group to set up a scam operation at the New Taichang Park complex in Kyaukhat, Myawaddy, across the border from Phop Phra district in Tak province.
The group created a fake investment platform and promoted it on social media, where they posed as “a wealthy single businessman”, Pol Maj Gen Choengron said. They gained victims’ trust by first offering high returns, then shut down the platform, disappeared with the funds, and blocked all contact.
Chinese investigators reported that the scheme caused financial losses to more than 500 Chinese victims, totalling about 200 million yuan, or roughly 1 billion baht. Immigration officers charged Mr Huang with using a fake passport and are working with Chinese authorities on further legal steps, Pol Maj Gen Choengron said.
Police Bust Vietnamese Weed Growers
In a separate case, police arrested three Vietnamese nationals after raiding an illegal cannabis growing facility in Bangkok and seizing more than 1,600 plants with an estimated value of nearly 2 million baht.
The raid followed complaints from nearby residents about a strong smell of cannabis coming from a warehouse in Soi Bang Kradi, tambon Samae Dam, Bang Khun Thian district.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau, together with staff from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, carried out the operation on Wednesday.
The suspects were named as Nguyen Duc Anh, 28, Do Van Bay, 27, and Dang Sy Tai, 35. Police found all three inside the warehouse, where they admitted they were growing cannabis.
Officers seized 1,685 plants. Each plant produced around 100 grams of dried flowers, for a total of about 168.5 kilograms. Police valued the haul at around 1.69 million baht, based on a market price of 10,000 baht per kilogram.
Investigators say the suspects had registered a company to run a cannabis-related business, but had not secured licences to grow or trade the controlled herb. They found that the operation was run entirely without any official approval.
Senior Metropolitan Police officers led the crackdown after investigators gathered evidence and obtained a search warrant from the Thon Buri District Court on Tuesday.
The search confirmed that the warehouse housed a large indoor growing setup, which led to the immediate arrests.
The three men were initially charged with jointly growing, processing, or selling a controlled herb for commercial purposes without permission, in violation of the Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Wisdom Act of 1999.
They, along with the seized cannabis plants, were handed over to investigators at Samae Dam police station for further legal action. Police say they are continuing the investigation to see if the warehouse was linked to a larger network.
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