The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Thailand announced a special operation at a press conference held at its headquarters - "CIB Game Begins: Dismantling Chinese Black Groups and Red Notice Fugitives Operation".
In this arrest operation, Thai police arrested a Chinese man who had fled China for many years and was suspected of being involved in a domestic fraud case totaling 15 billion Thai baht. The Chinese fugitive colluded with Thai officials to extort Chinese citizens for fake certificates, exposing a multi-billion scam.
Regrettably, after fleeing China, this Chinese man did not "start anew" but instead initiated another form of scam locally—he established a criminal gang specifically for making fake Thai identity cards for Chinese citizens, colluding with corrupt Thai police and Thai citizens who sold their identities, extorting money together.
In this operation, the police also raided 11 locations in seven provinces including Nakhon Sawan, Loei, Kalasin, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Nayok, Chonburi, and Bangkok. Authorities, based on arrest warrants issued by the Central Criminal Court for corruption and misconduct cases, arrested a 43-year-old Chinese citizen, LI ZHI JUN, and his 30-year-old Burmese wife, Aye.
Currently, these two suspects are facing multiple charges, including forgery of documents and collusion with local officials to create fake Thai identity cards. During this operation, the police seized 190 related items. Meanwhile, four former Thai Immigration Bureau officials previously imprisoned on different charges were also detained under new arrest warrants related to corruption and misconduct, adding "crime upon crime".
As this case was exposed, they now face additional charges, including abuse of power and accepting illegal benefits.
Now, let's see how this criminal group founded by a Chinese fugitive actually made these fake Thai identity cards?
The case can be traced back to late 2023, when an early Chinese victim reported to the police that they had been extorted. The victim claimed that they were forced to pay 2 million Thai baht to obtain a Thai identity card.
Further investigation revealed that the gang specializing in making fake Thai identity cards had started organized criminal activities in November 2022, not at the end of 2023.
According to the victim's statement, they initially saw an advertisement in a Chinese Facebook group claiming that a "legal" Thai identity card could be obtained for 1 million Thai baht. Believing this, they contacted the advertiser for consultation, and under the guidance of LI ZHI JUN, processed a fake Thai identity card at the municipal office in Nakhon Sawan, with local officials assisting in fingerprint scanning and photography.
After receiving the Thai identity card, LI ZHI JUN accompanied the victim to the Chaeng Watthana Consular Affairs Department to apply for a passport.
However, shortly after entering, three immigration officials arrested him, claiming he was using a fake Thai identity card.
Eventually, the officials demanded the victim pay 5 million Thai baht to drop the charges, later settling for 2 million Thai baht. Concerned for their safety, the victim transferred the money in cryptocurrency, and was released later that night.
Seeing this, everyone must be angry, as this is not just about the Chinese fugitive; it's truly about Thai law enforcement officers acting as accomplices in the fraud.
After a deep investigation, Thai police discovered that the criminal group was well-organized with clearly defined roles, including:
Frontmen like LI ZHI JUN and his Burmese wife, who specifically targeted Chinese clients; real Thai identity card holders willing to sell their identities, specifically responsible for providing documents;
and local government officials responsible for issuing false documents. Because the entire scheme involved real government officials and real Thai citizens, the scam was designed to be "seamless". But wait, there's more to this case.
Digging deeper, this was not just about making fake Thai identity cards for small money; there were larger interest groups behind it.
The illegal funds involved in this case were believed to be linked to a Chinese group, which used a proxy company as a cover. Although the company had an address, it had no office or employees and was not actually operating.
Moreover, this address was being used by 14 other companies, and the company partners had repeatedly used the same Thai partner's name. Thai police summoned five of these partners, but they all claimed they were not real partners, just employed by the company.
Combining all clues, Thai police suspected that the company was laundering money for illegal criminal groups in Tak Province, Mae Sot District, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Alas, after all the digging, it's linked back to border telecom fraud groups. Previously mentioned, LI ZHI YUAN is a Chinese fugitive wanted for what crime?
According to background checks, LI ZHI JUN was wanted for participating in a large-scale fraud case in China, where he allegedly defrauded 15 billion Thai baht from 3000 victims in 2019, then fled to Thailand in 2021. In Thailand, he exploited a local program for verifying the nationality of long-term residing ethnic minorities (this type of identity card is reserved for ethnic minorities who have lived in Thailand for over 10 years) to fraudulently obtain a Thai identity card.
Reportedly, LI ZHI JUN and his wife paid 60,000 Thai baht each to Thai brokers for the documents needed for the identity cards.
After settling in Thailand with the identity card, LI ZHI JUN used his new identity to run a scam business, specifically targeting Chinese citizens, claiming he had channels to help obtain Thai identity cards. After successfully attracting clients, he would tip off Thai immigration officials.
Currently, LI ZHI JUN denies all charges, but the police are confident in the case because they have obtained evidence from LI ZHI JUN's phone, which contains contact records of at least 10 Chinese citizens who had sought his help for Thai identity cards.
Additionally, the police have traced the finances of the agency suspected of involvement in money laundering and fraud. Authorities found that their cash flow in Poipet, Cambodia, and the Thai-Myanmar border was very substantial, reaching 400 to 500 million Thai baht in just one year. Currently, Thai authorities plan to expand the investigation into related criminal enterprises.
Really carrying this big scandal, who knows what big figures might be revealed later. We will keep an eye on this case and stay updated with any further reports.
