Thai police raided an illegal online gambling gang, successfully arresting three main suspects, including a 63-year-old former teacher.
The target of this operation was the illegally operated LIGAZ88 online gambling website, which involved gambling projects including online slot machines and football betting, with a monthly turnover exceeding 50 million Thai Baht.
The police discovered through in-depth investigations that the gambling gang's operational base was located in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province. The police first searched a 63-year-old woman named Wasakarn, a member of the gang and a retired teacher.
During the search, Ms. Wasakarn asked the police, "Do you know what I used to do?" She admitted to participating in the operation of the gambling website and providing support for it.
The police also found clues related to the transfer of funds to the gambling website from the ATM card of a suspect named Anuwat, and subsequently seized the card.
Ms. Wasakarn further admitted that she was responsible for withdrawing cash using the ATM card and transferring the funds to the account of Mr. Sarach, the owner of the gambling website, who lives in a luxury apartment in the center of Hat Yai and operates the gambling website from that location.
Then, the police went to search the residences of Supawinee and Warawut. Inside Ms. Supawinee's house, the police found a large amount of electronic equipment, including tablets, mobile phones, and ATM cards, all of which were tools for operating the gambling website. Ms. Supawinee admitted that she had a relationship with the website operator, was responsible for managing customer deposits and withdrawals, and calculated employee salaries.
Mr. Warawut stated that he served as a marketing officer on the gambling website with a monthly salary of 15,000 Thai Baht, responsible for promoting the website and inviting others to participate in gambling activities.
In further investigations, the police also searched a luxury apartment and found 12 computer devices, bank books, and a large number of unactivated SIM cards. The police stated that all three suspects would face multiple charges including organizing gambling activities, illegal use of someone else's electronic account, and promoting illegal gambling, and the case is currently being further processed.
The success of this operation marks significant progress made by Thai police in combating online gambling activities.
