Police have arrested five Chinese nationals who allegedly operated an illegal call centre and underground lending service in Pattaya.
Pol Maj Gen Kampol Leelaprapaporn, chief of Chon Buri police, said yesterday the raid came after Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy national police chief, asked police units to integrate their efforts to crack down on foreign nationals running illegal businesses across the country, especially in Pattaya, a major tourist venue.
On Tuesday night, officers led by Pol Maj Gen Kampol raided a townhouse in tambon Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri, after being informed of possible illegal activities. The arrest was a joint operation by Chon Buri Provincial Police, Immigration Police and Pattaya Tourist Police, he said.
They found four male Chinese nationals and one female, aged between 29-41.
Police also confiscated eight laptops, 12 mobile phones, over 50 used sim cards and a list of 100 customers, said Pol Maj Gen Kampol.
Pol Maj Gen Kampol said the Chinese group were underground lenders, using Thailand as their base. They had phoned borrowers in China using Thai mobile numbers.
The Chinese nationals had also managed to hire a Chinese maid to cook and clean for them.
Police believe the money flow from their operation reached dozens of millions of baht. Pol Maj Gen Kampol said officers were tracking the transactions made by victims to their Chinese bank.
During questioning, the suspects said they were unaware that underground lending and call-centre operations were illegal in Thailand. They claimed they entered Thailand for tourism purposes.
Pol Maj Gen Kampol said the five Chinese nationals had overstayed their tourist visas. They were taken to Nong Prue station for further legal proceedings.
The investigation was being extended to bring other members of this illegal lending network to task.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's permanent secretary Wisit Wisitsora-at presided over a meeting on a royal decree on cyber crime prevention and suppression on Tuesday.
The meeting was joined by mobile operators, including True Corporation, Total Access Communication (DTAC), AIS subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) and National Telecom (NT). Public agencies such as the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Royal Thai Police also attended.
The decree takes effect on April 9 and says anyone who registers for sim cards which are used for scamming could face up to by three years in jail or a 300,000 baht fine.