Police on Thursday morning raided premises believed used for illegal app-based lending in Bangkok and Chon Buri.

Nine people were arrested during the raid. Six of the suspects are Thai and three Chinese nationals.

Police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) and the Provincial Police Region 2 detained the suspects during searches at 10 locations in Bangkok and Chon Buri.

The nine are accused of involvement in an illegal lending service charging excessive interest rates using the KAKA and KIKO apps.

Pol Col Padol Chandon, a superintendent of the ECD, said the three Chinese were illegal creditors. Five of the Thais opened bank accounts used for moving the money and the sixth was a debt collector.

The arrests followed a series of complaints from people who experienced problems after borrowing money using the KAKA and KIKO apps, he said.

Police seized five notebook computers, 14 mobile phones and 13 bank books as evidence; 37 bank accounts were impounded.

The Chinese suspects were identified only as Chu, Zhiping and Song.

The gang had financial transactions totalling approximately 400 million baht over three months, moved the money around quickly to avoid legal action and tried to hide its location, Pol Col Padol said.

The gang's customers faced high interest rates, were threatened if they did not pay and lost personal data stored on their phones, he said.

Two other suspects were still at large, Pol Col Padol said.