21 Indian Admins of Gambling Site Arrested in Pattaya, 100M Baht Circulated

CHONBURIAfter receiving information about an illegal cross-border online gambling website being operated from the premises, authorities took action on June 11. The Transnational Crime Suppression Center and the Immigration Police of Chonburi Province, carried with a search warrant from the Pattaya Provincial Court, inspected a house in Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.

Upon inspection of the large two-story house with a surrounding fence and a swimming pool, they found 8 Indian nationals on the ground floor working as admin staff for the online gambling website.

They were seated in front of computers, chatting with customers and controlling the deposit and withdrawal system. In the upstairs bedrooms, another 13 Indian men were found sleeping, bringing the total to 21 individuals.

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Immigration Police of Chonburi Province inspected a house in Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province on June 11, 2024.

The police invited all the Indian nationals downstairs to check their documents. It was discovered that 8 of the Indian men did not have passports, while the rest had complete passports with foreign student visas.

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The authorities seized 8 laptop computers, over 100 mobile phones, numerous SIM cards, a notebook containing customer names, and papers with admin staff rules written in Hindi posted on the walls, which stated prohibitions against drinking alcohol during work, being late for work, and disturbing others.

Pol. Maj. Gen. Chatchai Surachethphong, Deputy Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 2, revealed that the arrest followed the Transnational Crime Suppression Center’s investigation, which found that the house had been rented by Indian nationals since August of the previous year.

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Suspicions arose due to the large number of Indian individuals staying in the house, only appearing when receiving or buying cooking ingredients, and the electricity bill surging to 30,000-40,000 baht per month. After gathering evidence and obtaining a search warrant from the Pattaya Provincial Court, a joint force from relevant agencies conducted the raid.

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It was discovered that this group of Indian nationals managed 7 online gambling websites, with a senior Indian member who is currently being sought for questioning. The websites had a circulation of over 200 million rupees, equivalent to approximately 100 million baht, through bank accounts in India. The location of the website servers is currently unknown and under investigation.

Initially, all 21 Indian nationals were taken into custody along with evidence to file an arrest report at the Pattaya City Police Station. The Chonburi Immigration Office was contacted to verify the legality of their entry and exit from the country, and they will be blacklisted and banned from entering Thailand.

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all 21 Indian nationals were taken into custody along with evidence to file an arrest report at the Pattaya City Police Station.