BANGKOK – The operation “The Purge” of the cyber police resulted in the arrest of foreign nationals behind the hybrid fraud gang and the seizure of assets worth over 250 million baht (6.79 million USD). Among this amount was 80 million baht (2.17 million USD) in cash, which was nearly sent across the border to Myanmar.
On Wednesday, Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Chantararuangthong, Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen.Worawat Watnakornbancha, and Mr. Akbar Akhtar, Head of Investigation, APAC, Binance, held a press conference on this operation at the Technology Crime Investigation Division headquarters in Muang Thong Thani.
Scammers tricked victims into investing in cryptocurrency through fake platforms. Then, they instructed the victims to buy USDT currency and transfer it to a specific digital wallet address. Investigators traced the money to Mr. Su Shaoxian, a Chinese citizen, and his associates. They also discovered a network of Thai nominees used to hide transactions by purchasing real estate and other assets.
Authorities then launched “Trust No One” operations EP.1-5, searching over 72 locations across the country. They arrested three Chinese suspects and confiscated luxury condos, cars, brand-name goods, cash, and other evidence worth more than 1.9 billion baht (51.6 million USD). The case was forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office, which indicted all suspects.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) ordered the seizure and freeze of assets connected to the crime, totaling 15 items valued at approximately 600 million baht (16.3 million USD). A notice was issued for victims to file claims to get their money back, which could take over a year.
The cyber police continued their investigation and found victims in the Din Daeng police station area who were scammed using the same method. They identified the same group of scammers and obtained arrest warrants for 26 people. Search warrants were also obtained for four key targets. This led to “The Purge Operation”, which resulted in the arrest of four key suspects.
The suspects include two Thai nationals: Mr. Wasis, 31, arrested at the Chaengwattana Government Complex for laundering money through digital assets; and Ms. Sirapat, 25, the account owner, was arrested at the Mae Sot immigration checkpoint in Tak province.
The other two suspects are Mr. Dong Jian, a 45-year-old Chinese national and beneficiary, arrested at his residence in Chiang Mai; and Mr. Wei King Keck, a 41-year-old Singaporean national who hired nominees to open corporate accounts and manage assets, arrested in a parking lot in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.
All suspects were charged with: Fraud by false pretenses, membership of a secret society, membership of a gang, entering false or misleading computer data into a computer system to the detriment of the public, participation in a transnational criminal organization and money laundering.
Authorities froze bank accounts and seized assets and digital accounts of the suspects and people involved in the case totaling around 252.5 million baht. Some of the money was on its way to a neighboring country, but officers set up a checkpoint and stopped a suspicious vehicle in Mae Ra Moe Subdistrict, Mae Sot District, Tak Province. They found 80 million baht in cash in four cloth bags and detained two people in the vehicle, a man and a woman, for questioning.
The two claimed they were hired to transport the money from Bang Pa In district in Ayutthaya province to Mae Sot district in Tak province before smuggling it out of the country through unofficial channels to Myawaddy. They were paid 5,000 baht. The authorities confiscated all the money and transported it by helicopter to display it at the press conference.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Worawat said that based on their investigation of the entire financial trail, they believe the network had a turnover of up to 30 billion baht a year. The authorities will continue their investigation and expand the operation.
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