A 36-year-old Chinese businesswoman wanted in her home country in a case involving customs violations that caused 500 million baht in damages, has been arrested at her condominium in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
The suspect, identified only as Ms Wu, reportedly helped establish import-export companies ostensibly dealing in clothing, while using them as fronts for other activities to evade taxes and duties, said Pol Lt Gen Noppasil Poonsawat, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau.
The offences included customs classification fraud, false declarations, fraudulent certificates of origin, document forgery, smuggling, tampering with or destroying customs seals, and fraudulent tax refund claims.
The activities caused combined losses of more than 500 million baht in Shanghai, before the suspect fled to Bangkok to evade arrest, said Pol Lt Gen Noppasil.
The suspect was handed over to Investigation Sub-division 3 for further legal proceedings.
The arrest was part of an ongoing crackdown on foreign criminals deemed undesirable in Thailand. The Chinese embassy has provided a list of wanted people to the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police, said Pol Lt Gen Noppasil.
Crypto scam suspect
In another case, immigration officers arrested a 47-year-old Chinese man, identified as Lee, who was wanted on a warrant issued by the Phra Khanong North Criminal Court in Bangkok over an alleged cryptocurrency investment scam.
Pol Maj Gen Songprode Sirisukha, commander of Immigration Division 3, said Mr Lee allegedly persuaded multiple investors in Thailand to invest in cryptocurrency by promising high returns, causing combined losses of more than 100 million baht.
Investigators initially traced him to Samut Prakan before discovering he had moved to a luxury house in Chon Buri. Immigration officers tracked him down yesterday and detained him before transferring him to the Hua Mak police station in Bangkok, where the case originated, for further proceedings.