Crime: Three individuals have been arrested for scamming millions of baht from people nationwide.
Pol Col Pakkapong Saiubol, deputy commander of Immigration Division 1, said one Thai woman and two Nigerians were arrested recently in Ratchathewi district for running scams.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang, chief of the Immigration Bureau, added the scammers employed various strategies on social media to lure victims, such as promising high returns on investment and showing affection to gain trust and asking for money transfers.
Pol Col Pakkapong said police received a tip-off from a victim which allowed the cops to track the suspects' accounts.
One victim in Phuket had lost over 1.4 million baht; however, there were victims also in Bangkok, Maha Sarakham and Samut Prakan.
Police said the scammers' account had over 286 million baht and it will be used to compensate some of the victims.
Raid nets 1,000 counterfeit bags
Sa Kaeo: Joint forces yesterday raided a shop in Aranyaprathet district and confiscated more than 1,000 counterfeit bags.
Pol Col Thanapong Poti, superintendent of Klong Luek police, took police and army rangers to investigate the illegal distribution of counterfeit goods and taxable products at Rong Kluea market.
Near the Golden Gate Market, south of Rong Kluea, the authorities found a shop that sold counterfeit bags bearing the names of Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Balenciaga, Burberry and Dior.
The owner fled shortly before authorities showed up. Shopkeepers nearby said the owner of the bags was a Cambodian.
Some of the bags were displayed on stalls, while others were stored in the shop. The items had no import documents nor tax records.
More than 1,000 bags were confiscated and taken to the Aranyaprathet Customs Office.
Use of local design draws criticism
Heritage: The Wiang Bua community in Phayao is crying foul over the use of their revered patterns in tile work decoration.
The province is renovating the Pho Khun Ngam Muang Memorial near Phayao Lake -- a popular tourist site. It is using the 700-year-old Wiang Bua patterns for its tiles, a move that has offended some members of the community.
Pornsak Chaphotham, a coordinator with the Wiang Bua People's Group, said yesterday he was grateful the revered Wiang Bua kiln patterns are being used for renovation, but they do not belong on the ground.
Mr Pornsak said people would be walking over the "wisdom of Wiang Bua ancestors".
The patterns should appear on flags of the northern region or be used for wall paintings, he said.
"On behalf of the Wiang Bua people, I urge them to change the floor tiles," Mr Pornsak said. "The renovation committee should have asked for permission to use the pattern from the community first."
Cops charge mum for brutal murder
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Police say they have enough evidence to prove a mother killed her daughter so she could acquire her land.
Pol Col Somporn Prisawanit, chief of Bang Khan police, said that Prateep Jindawong, 54, used a screwdriver to kill her 29-year-old daughter Chonthira Jindawong.
Police have charged her with premeditated murder and the suspect was released on bail of 200,000 baht after her arrest on Tuesday.
Chonthira was killed at their home in Moo 3 village of tambon Ban Lam Nao in Bang Khan district on April 11. The mother told police that a thief had broken into the house and had killed her daughter.
Pol Col Somporn said Ms Prateep had a quarrel with her daughter because she wanted her to sell a 10-rai oil palm plantation that her husband had given their daughter.