Police have arrested suspected members of a gang that they say defrauded people into investing in non-existent development projects in the Northeast since 2021 using the name of the royally established Chaipattana Foundation.
Investigators had gathered evidence and found 10 suspects who were complicit in the scam, Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan, the Crime Suppression Division chief, told journalists on Thursday.
This week, police teams were dispatched to search locations where the fraud took place in Chaiyaphum, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Kalasin, Chiang Mai, Lampang and Suphan Buri, he said.
Police have so far captured seven suspects and charged them with fraud, he said.
They were identified as Somchai Namsom, 59; Suriyaphan Sattayapitak, 61; Aukkarawat Promkamnoi, 59; Prasan Saengsawang, 65; Niphon Phukongka, 61; Warapon Suwankammun, 58; and Somsak Khanthong, 51. They all denied the charges.
Police said they had confiscated documents containing the details of 20 projects used to lure victims, 18 passbooks, three ATM cards and four mobile phones.
Police are searching for two more suspects — identified as Kittisak Saiprom, 58, and Metta Khanthong, 53 — in connection with the case.
Another suspect, Lerdpong Chaiwonglerd, 60, is currently serving time for another criminal offence.
Pol Maj Gen Montree said police were first alerted to the gang’s activities by the Chaipattana Foundation in 2021.
The gang had duped more than 20 victims out of a combined 1.5 million baht, which they said would be invested in 90 non-existent kaem ling (monkey cheeks) projects for water retention in the Northeast, he said.
The suspects claimed to represent a construction company contracted by the foundation, he added.