CHIANG MAI - The chief inspector at the Hang Dong police station in this northern province has been arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang
Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan was taken into custody on Friday night while he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province. He was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai, said Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5.
The Chiang Mai Provincial Court had issued a warrant on Friday for the officer, who faces charges of procuring equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.
Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.
His arrest followed the apprehension of his daughter, Wanuchapond Akkarasirisinsopon, 26, and three others during raids at three Baan Ua-arthorn housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, said Pol Maj Gen Weerachon.
The other three were Theerawat Akkarasirisinsopon, 22, Suwannarak Pongyos, 25, and Nang Thuzar Nyein, 25, a Myanmar national.
At the Baan Ua-arthorn projects in Hang Dong and Muang districts, police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices that are used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.
Ms Wanuchapond reportedly admitted that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting three rooms and monitoring devices.
She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.
Police investigators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.
Members used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet. By transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, they duped victims into thinking they were calling from Thai government agencies.
Each SIM box can hold 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. A check showed the seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.
The investigation is ongoing to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and Thai suspects, said Pol Maj Gen Weerachon.
Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.