NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Police have arrested 90 alleged scammers, including 55 Chinese nationals, during raids on eight locations in Chawang district of this southern province.
Police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) and officials from other agencies took part in the raids on Thursday, in which 55 Chinese nationals and 35 Thais were arrested.
The raids took place at a hotel room, three commercial buildings, three houses and a factory in Chawang district, police said at a briefing on Friday.
More than 2,000 items were seized, including 228 computers, 1,037 mobile phones, 521 Sim cards, 80 bank passbooks, some weapons and untaxed goods. All 90 suspects were being held in police custody pending legal action and the investigation was being extended, said police.
The raids followed information that Chinese-led scam gangs had been using Nakhon Si Thammarat as their operational base, said Pol Lt Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, an assistant national police chief, and Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhornbancha, the CCIB commissioner, at the briefing.
The gang employed people to trick victims into investing in bogus stock trading schemes, booking non-existent hotel rooms and transferring money into the scammers’ bank accounts, police said.