A former inmate who claimed to be a well-known politician to lure a woman into investing in a bogus cryptocurrency scheme, leading to losses of 22 million baht, has been arrested in Phuket.
Police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) arrested a man identified only as Pratya, 36, at a house in tambon Koh Kaew of Muang district on charges of public fraud and inputting false information into a computer system.
The arrest came after a complaint by a 62-year-old woman who runs a shop selling office supplies and equipment in Pathum Thani. She said one of the gang members claiming to be a well-known politician had persuaded her to invest in cryptocurrency trading and she lost 22 million baht.
The CCIB investigation led to the arrest of Mr Pratya, who was tasked with opening mule bank accounts for a call-centre scam gang to deposit their ill-gotten gains.
During questioning, Mr Pratya said he had been released from jail in 2023 for another offence and was having trouble finding a job. He was later approached by an acquaintance to open mule accounts for a gambling website. He received 800 baht for each of the seven accounts he opened.
A criminal record check showed two outstanding warrants for fraud issued by the Pathum Thai Provincial Court and the Thon Buri Criminal Court, police said.