Surin lottery vendors seek probe into B400m fraud

Surin lottery vendors seek probe into B400m fraud

A group of lottery vendors in Surin lodges a complaint with Pol Col Akkharaphol Boonyopassadam, deputy chief of the Department of Special Investigation, to investigate the alleged lottery investment fraud. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)
A group of lottery vendors in Surin lodges a complaint with Pol Col Akkharaphol Boonyopassadam, deputy chief of the Department of Special Investigation, to investigate the alleged lottery investment fraud. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)

A group of lottery vendors in Surin province has lodged a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation over an alleged lottery sale fraud which caused damage worth about 400 million baht to over 100 vendors.

Anon Chuesattabongkot, a lawyer, on Tuesday led lottery vendor Samit Siewsa-nguan and a number of people to lodge a petition with Pol Col Akkharaphol Boonyopassadam to investigate the alleged fraud.

They claimed to have been duped into investing in government lottery tickets and wanted the DSI to handle their case as a special investigation.

Mr Samit said a suspect from Roi Et province had persuaded them into investing in government lottery tickets. Since some people he knew had invested with the suspect for more than two years and received money from the investment, he agreed to invest with the suspect in April last year.

The lottery vendor said initially he had received money from the sales of lottery tickets after the investment. 

But when he and other vendors invested 25 million baht for lottery draws on Oct 16 and Nov 1, the suspect did not supply them with lottery tickets. After that, he could not contact the man. His group then filed a complaint with police at Rattanaburi police station in Surin.

Mr Anon said police had issued warrants for the arrest of eight suspects in the lottery investment fraud. Two more suspects — Thosaporn Jitmaen and Yutthana Thongkham — remained at large, said the lawyer.

Police investigators had seized assets, including cash and gold necklaces from the suspects, but the gold turned out to be fake, said Mr Anon.

Pol Col Akkharaphol said the DSI would accept the case for consideration and send investigators to gather facts as the case involved many victims and caused a lot of damage.

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