BANGKOK — Immigration police have arrested a Chinese national suspected of running an international credit card fraud operation that targeted thousands of victims across five Asian countries, seizing over 10 million baht ($308,840) worth of evidence including cryptocurrency, gold, and mobile phones.
During an expanded investigation into transnational cybercrime, authorities discovered a sophisticated scheme where stolen electronic card data was used to purchase gold and mobile phones for resale, with proceeds laundered into cryptocurrency.
An immigration police investigation team, armed with a search warrant from Minburi Criminal Court, raided a house on Phraya Suren 9 Alley in Bang Chan subdistrict, Khlong Sam Wa district, Bangkok.
They arrested Mr. Yupeng, 35, a Chinese national, on August 8 after discovering his connection to a hacker network that stole credit card data from thousands of victims across China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
During the arrest, police seized evidence including credit card information from over 5,000 individuals, 70 mobile phones, gold bars weighing 20 baht, over 400,000 baht ($12,355) in cash, approximately 9 million baht ($27,795) in cryptocurrency, and one vehicle—totaling over 10 million baht ($308,840) in value.
Yupeng confessed to using the Telegram app to communicate with the network, directing others to use stolen credit card information to purchase mobile phones and gold online. The items were then sold at major shopping centers in the Pathum Wan area, with the cash proceeds converted to digital currency (USDT) and transferred back to accomplices.
After receiving gold and smartphones, he would wipe all data from the phones to eliminate evidence. He had been conducting these operations for over 10 months.
Police have initially charged him with unauthorized use and possession of others’ electronic cards. The case has been forwarded to investigators at Bang Chan Police Station for prosecution, and authorities will coordinate with commercial banks in Thailand to investigate the broader criminal network.
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