CHIANG RAI – The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) police, through the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), led an operation to arrest a woman who allegedly pretended to be a government officer and scammed a victim out of more than one hundred thousand baht.
Pol Lt Gen Natthasak Chaowanasai, Commissioner of the CIB, told Thai media that police officers arrested Ms Jindarat (surname withheld), aged 27, who was wanted under Criminal Court arrest warrant no. 5032/2567, dated 17 October 2024, in front of a sawmill located in Village 11, Mae Or Sub-district, Phan District.
She has been accused of committing offences relating to: “Cheating the public by impersonating another person, and dishonestly or fraudulently inputting distorted, falsified, or false computer data, whether fully or partly, into a computer system in a manner likely to cause damage to the public.”
Pol Lt Gen Natthasak said that on 29 April 2024, Ms Jindarat’s victim (name withheld) filed a complaint at Tao Poon Police Station.
Before filing the complaint, the victim had been contacted via the LINE application by the suspect, who used an account named “Mueang Rayong Police Station”.
The suspect made a video call through LINE and claimed that the victim was linked to “mule accounts” and money laundering activities. The suspect then told the victim to transfer money for “verification”.
The victim believed the claim and followed the instructions. To get the money, the victim pawned gold, received cash, deposited it into their own bank account, then transferred it to the account provided by the scammer, claiming it was for checking and clearing the alleged offence.
The victim transferred money in 2 transactions as follows:
- First transfer
- From the victim’s account to one specified account
- Amount: 112,608.31 baht
- Date and time: 29 April 2024, 14:48 hrs
- Second transfer
- To the same bank account as the first transfer
- Amount: 9,014.66 baht
- Date and time: 29 April 2024, 14:51 hrs
After these two transfers, the scammer continued to pressure the victim to transfer more money.
At this point, the victim realised they had been deceived, having already sent large sums and suffered financial loss. The victim then decided to report the incident and formally complained to investigators at Tao Poon Police Station, asking that legal action be taken against the offender to the fullest extent of the law.
Before the arrest, the investigation team collected intelligence and received a tip-off from a confidential source. The information indicated that Ms Jindarat, the account holder who received the fraudulent transfers, had fled and was working at the sawmill mentioned above.
The officers reported this information to their supervisors, then travelled to the location to verify it. When they arrived at the area, they found a Thai woman whose appearance matched the details in the arrest warrant.
The police officers approached, identified themselves as police, and carried out an initial check. From questioning and comparison with the warrant, they confirmed that the woman was Ms Jindarat, the suspect named in the Criminal Court warrant.
They then showed her the arrest warrant, read it aloud, and allowed her to read it herself. Once she understood, she admitted that she was the person named in the warrant and confirmed that she had not been arrested in this case before.
The police officers Ms Jindarat that she was under arrest, explained the charges under the warrant, and informed her of her legal rights. They then took her into custody and took her to Mae Or Police Station to record the arrest.
After that, she was handed over to investigators at Tao Poon Police Station for further legal proceedings. In her initial statement, the suspect denied all charges.
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