Bangkok (VNA) – Thai authorities have intensified a crackdown on online scam and gambling networks, arresting a suspected ringleader and freezing assets worth billions of THB linked to transnational criminal activities.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), through its Special Operations Division, joined the Immigration Bureau to arrest a 32-year-old suspect at a luxury pool villa in Soi Jomtien 14 in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province in eastern Thailand.
Police said he was classed as a prohibited person under Section 12(7) of Thailand’s Immigration Act 1979, which covers people believed to threaten society, public peace, public safety or national security, as well as those wanted by foreign authorities, The Nation Thailand reported.
Authorities said the case followed intelligence from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, which identified the suspect as a key member of an online gambling mafia network directly linked to the grey-zone empire behind Shwe Kokko in Myanmar.
Investigators said he helped run 239 online gambling platforms with more than 330,000 Chinese gamblers and a turnover of 13.18 billion THB (nearly 410 million USD). He had been wanted by Chinese authorities and allegedly attempted to evade arrest by changing nationality and entering Thailand using a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport.
After learning that he planned to leave his hideout for a trip to Pattaya, officers followed him to a luxury beachfront pool villa in Jomtien and moved in at dawn.
The suspect was then handed over to investigators, acknowledged that his visa had been revoked, and is now being processed for removal from Thailand so he can face legal punishment in China.
The operation was carried out under the direction of the CIB commissioner, the commander of the Special Operations Division, the commissioner of the Immigration Bureau and other senior officers.
In a related development, Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) announced on April 9 that it had temporarily seized and frozen assets linked to criminal activities involving fraud, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
The assets are connected to several suspects, including Taengthai, Yim Liak, Ben Smith, Wirinya and Katriya.
A total of 34 assets were confiscated, including cars, loan contract assets, bank deposits, cash and securities held in trading accounts, with a combined value of about 8.269 billion THB (260 million USD).
Including assets previously seized by AMLO, the total number of confiscated and frozen items in the case has reached 102, with a total value of around 20.39 billion THB (over 635 million USD).
AMLO said it will continue working with the Royal Thai Police and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to dismantle fraud networks and strengthen the fight against financial crimes./.
