The Highway Police Division (HPD) has arrested a suspect linked to a gang that lured Myanmar migrant workers into opening mule accounts used for fraudulent activities.
Pol Maj Gen Kongkrit Lertsitthikul, the HPD commander, said that Chitisan (surname not disclosed), 30, was apprehended in tambon Wang Nam Khieo, Kamphaeng Saen district, Nakhon Pathom.
The arrest followed complaints from 54 Myanmar migrant workers who alleged they had been deceived by a gang into opening bank accounts that were later sold to call centre scammers and other online fraudsters for conducting financial transactions.
The workers claimed the gang had falsely informed them that registering bank accounts in their names was necessary to receive their wages.
They realised they had been tricked when they were served with arrest warrants on charges of owning mule accounts and abetting fraud.
Pol Maj Gen Kongkrit explained that the workers' bank accounts were linked to electronic money transfer services to facilitate the siphoning of funds.
The migrant workers filed complaints with the Myanmar embassy, which subsequently coordinated with the banks to close the accounts.
The commander estimated that the damages caused by the mule accounts amounted to approximately two billion baht.
Meanwhile, Mr Chitisan allegedly confessed to working with the gang for two years. He reportedly drove the migrant workers to various banks in Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, and Rayong to open the accounts.