The police in Chonburi Province and Pattaya have cracked down on a travel agency scam operated jointly by Chinese and South Korean citizens, who used the agency as a front to engage in illegal telecommunications fraud.
Dozens of them colluded, using two luxurious pool villas in Pattaya as their headquarters.
The Thai police became suspicious after discovering a group of foreigners who rented two luxurious accommodations in Pattaya but never left the villas. Further investigation revealed that the electricity bills for the villas were abnormally high, exceeding 10,000 Thai baht per month.
Based on this information, the police raided these villas and found 1 South Korean and 13 Chinese citizens working inside.
The gang targeted victims of the same nationality as their Chinese and South Korean members, operating call centers and travel agency scams. They sold fake travel packages without providing any services to the buyers, with total losses exceeding 10 million Thai baht. The illicit gains were exchanged and stored in the cryptocurrency USDT.
The police seized equipment used for the fraud, including 30 computers, 30 mobile phones, and 30 landline phones. Evidence of their fraudulent activities, including conversations with victims, was found on their computers.
The police revealed that there might be another call center scam gang renting in the same villa area, and the case requires further investigation. After arresting the gang, it was confirmed that these two groups were unrelated and led by different individuals.
The Thai police are currently conducting further investigations to identify other possible suspects involved.
