At least 7,000 people have bought Covid-19 vaccination slots at Bang Sue Grand Station that were illegally acquired through a loophole in the the national vaccine recipient's database, police said.
Authorities are looking into the identity of those involved in the scam, who police said have made around seven million baht since the national jab rollout began.
The malpractice was detected when an unusually large number of appointments were added to the database during the period reserved for walk-ins last month, according to Mingkwan Wichaidit, Dermatology Institute and Bangsue vaccination centre director.
Dr Mingkwan said when the government began accepting walk-in vaccination registration for the elderly on June 29, the vaccination centre was inundated by thousands of seniors who required assistance in filling out the medical forms prior to receiving a jab.
To assist the registration process and prevent overcrowding, many volunteers were enlisted to help out and several were given clearance to access and alter the vaccine recipients' database, creating the loophole which allowed the scam to take place.
Officials said about 700 people bought appointments between July 18-27, while about 7,000 others did so between July 28 and 31.
Authorities are in the process of checking for any more irregular appointments up until Aug 8.
The irregular appointments, sold at 1,000 baht each, have now been cancelled.
So far, more than 300 people have been caught in connection to the scam. Lawyers representing the Department of Medical Services have filed a legal complaint against the gang with the Noppawong police station, Dr Mingkwan said.