According to Thai media reports, the Director-General of Thailand's Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, Police Major General Worawa, instructed the Chief of the Second Division, Police Major General Nipon, to lead a team to carry out an operation yesterday. They successfully raided and dismantled a major illegal lottery gambling website's criminal den.
This operation targeted three locations, two in Phatthalung Province and one in Bangkok. At the first criminal den, the police conducted a search on a residence in Phatthalung Province under the search warrant No. 394/2567 issued by the Phatthalung Court, capturing 35-year-old lottery bookie Pongpisit.
At the second criminal den, the police executed the search warrant No. 395/2567 issued by the Phatthalung Court on a residence on Maharat Road in Phatthalung Province, capturing 30-year-old woman Lalita, who was an administrator of the criminal gang.
At the third criminal den, the police conducted a search on a residence in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok under the search warrant No. 874/2567 issued by the Criminal Court, capturing 53-year-old female homeowner Vipavi, who was also one of the lottery bookies. Additionally, the police captured 39-year-old man Bandit in Phatthalung Province, who was responsible for providing bank cards in the criminal gang.
It was reported that during the tracking of this criminal gang, they operated an online lottery gambling website called "Bao Bao Shop," mainly dealing in foreign lottery gambling.
The gang organized customers to participate in various online lottery gambling activities through a Line public account named @168dudtj, including Hanoi lottery, Thai lottery, and Lao lottery. The criminal gang had established 10 Line groups, each with about 100 customers, most of whom mainly participated in the Hanoi lottery (Vietnamese government lottery), which draws three times a day: at 5:15 PM, 6:15 PM, and 7:00 PM.
Moreover, the website offered a payout ratio of 90-100 Thai Baht for every 1 Thai Baht wagered for winning customers. Suspects Pongpisit and Vipavi were the main lottery bookies of this large online lottery gambling website in the Phatthalung area, operating for over three years, with an annual average financial turnover exceeding 180 million Thai Baht.
Police Major General Worawa stated that in accordance with government policy, he has instructed his subordinates to accelerate the crackdown on cybercrime, especially online gambling.
The police have collected relevant evidence and requested the Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for six individuals involved in the case.
So far, four people have been arrested, with two others on the run. In this operation, the police seized a large amount of stolen goods, including Mercedes-Benz cars, Toyota Alphard vans, gold jewelry, land ownership deeds, branded watches, designer bags, computers, laptops, bankbooks, mobile phones, and other accessories, with a total value exceeding 20 million Thai Baht.
The aforementioned suspects have been transferred to the local police station and will be prosecuted for "organizing online illegal gambling without permission" and "conspiracy to launder money."
