Fourteen suspects, including Taiwanese nationals, have been arrested during a police-led crackdown operation on an online scam and gambling syndicate in Muang district of Si Sa Ket province.
A combined team of police and local officials arrested three Taiwanese men and 11 Thais – including four minors aged between 17 and 19 – during the raid in Muang district on Wednesday evening, Si Sa Ket police commander Pol Maj Gen Supachai Sakkarinpanitchakun told a press conference on Thursday.
The operation targeted two rented houses at a housing estate in tambon Pho which were allegedly used as control centres for bank accounts and payment gateways linked to online gambling websites, said the provincial police chief.
The Taiwanese men were identified only as Chen, Wu, and Jheng. The 11 Thai suspects, aged between 17 and 23, included four minors aged 17-19. They were facing various charges under the Royal Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology-Related Crimes.
Four suspects – the three Taiwanese nationals and one Thai – were charged with procuring, advertising, or disseminating information to facilitate the sale, rental, or lending of bank accounts, electronic cards, or e-wallets for use in committing technology-related or other criminal offences in violation of Section 10 of the decree.
The remaining suspects were charged with allowing others to use their bank accounts, electronic cards, or mobile phone numbers, knowing or having reasons to believe they would be used for criminal purposes, in violation of Section 9 of the same decree.
Additional charges were filed against a 21-year-old suspect for illegal possession of a firearm and carrying it in public without a sound reason. A 19-year-old suspect was charged with possession of a Category 2 narcotic (ketamine) for personal use. All 10 Thai suspects also tested positive for drug use and faced further charges
The arresting team seized many items of evidence, including 110 mobile phones, 90 bank account books, multiple SIM cards, one homemade firearm, a sachet of ketamine, two motorcycles, three cars and a gold necklace.
All suspects and confiscated items have been handed over to police investigators at Si Sa Ket’s Muang police station for legal action.