Police investigators
interrogate alleged ringleader Liu Jian (seated, center) from Anhui, China.
Theerarat Suthathiwong
Immigration police raided an upscale Pattaya home, breaking up an alleged
telephone-fraud ring targeting Chinese and Taiwanese victims.
More than 20 officers stormed the two-story home Naklua home May 4,
arresting 26 Chinese nationals and two Thais. Police also seized 26
telephones, 20 mobile phones, 2 notebook computers and networking equipment.
The raid came after Bangkok police broke up another purported call ring,
arresting 13 people including accused Taiwanese ringleader Jian Wei Lai, 29.
Interrogation of those arrested resulted in the location of a sister
operation in Pattaya.
Investigators say Chinese national Liu Jian, 33, rented the house two months
ago, outfitting it with numerous phone and Internet-access lines. Employees
were split into four groups, with some calling bank customers in Taiwan and
China, telling them their accounts had been compromised.
The victims were given instructions to call another number, which led to
other scammers who pretended to be bank employees who gave them instructions
to use an ATM machine to transfer money to a “safe” account.
Police said the fraudsters bilked their countrymen out of the equivalent of
100 million baht a day.
Immigration police charged the non-Thais with working in Thailand without a
work permit and will deport them to face charges in China. They also will be
blacklisted from returning to the kingdom.
