Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand's police announced on July 31 that they had arrested 18 Chinese call centre gang members in northern Chiang Mai province.
Officers from the Provincial Police Region 5 and the Technology Crime Suppression Division, along with tourist police, on July 30 conducted a raid on a luxury mansion in Huay Sai subdistrict, Mae Rim district, worth around 40 million THB (1.2 million USD).
The mansion was reportedly being used as a base of operations for a gang of Chinese nationals running a call centre scam targeting Chinese customers via multiple online platforms and applications. During the search, authorities seized over 20 computers, more than 100 mobile phones, and Chinese SIM cards used to contact victims in China. The group had defrauded over 10 Chinese victims.
Maj Gen Thawatchai Pongwiwatchai, Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police Region 5, said that the 18 suspects had been in Thailand for around three months, renting the mansion through a Chinese leader who organised the accommodation for the group. The gang worked around the clock, eating, sleeping, and living in the mansion.
Initial investigations show that each member of the call centre gang was paid between 10,000 to 20,000 yuan (about 1,393-2,786 USD) per month. Their main task was to deceive Chinese citizens, including scams related to online product sales, requests for money transfers to solve airline or banking issues, and extorting money as part of a typical call centre scam.
Further investigation is underway to identify the mastermind behind the operation and to uncover any potential cross-border criminal networks./.
