Crime Suppression Division police have arrested three members of a gang of nine people for allegedly deceiving a group of university students in Roi-et province into paying altogether 1.43 million baht to them in return for their being recruited into the military service without having to take an examination.
Armed with warrants issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court, CSD police on Tuesday took into custody Thaninpat Chanruang, 31, Panida Mahaktrakul, 36, and Wattana Phetpanya, 35, in three separate arrests in Nonthaburi province.
Mr Thaninpat was taken from house No.9/32 in Soi Sathit Yuthakan 4, in Tambon Thasai of Muang district; Ms Panida from house No. 39/294 at Sirikan Housing Estate in tambon Bang Mae Nang of Bang Yai district; and, Mr Wattana from house No. 71/391 in Prueksa Housing Estate in tambon Bang Mae Nang of Bang Yai district.
The arrests followed a complaint filed with the CSD by five students of a university in Roi-et against nine people.
In the complaint, the nine were accused of deceiving the five students by saying that they could help get them into the military service without having to take an exam.
The nine, led by a woman identified as Saowanee Sunthon, 24, took them to attend a training course at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok province. After that, a ceremony was held at a hotel in Pathum Thani to give them military ranking insignia to make them believe that they had now been in the military service.
Ms Saowanee and eight other members of the gang, all wearing military uniforms, were present at the ceremony.
The students then paid the group altogether 1.43 million baht on various occasions between Nov 27, 2015 and Aug 27, 2016.
They knew only recently that they had been cheated and filed the complaint with the CSD.
The police were still looking for Ms Saowanee, Thanaras Napitsiripapas, 35, Kritanond Mangkhai, 35, and three other suspects who were not yet identified.
In an interrogation, Ms Panida, one of the three who were arrested, denied being a gang member. She said that in fact she had also been cheated by Ms Saowanee and paid her 300,000 baht, believing that she had been recruited to be an officer attached to the Army Training Command.
Police said that in addition to fraud, the nine might also be charged with illegally wearing military uniforms.