The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC), in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Commission, Cyber Police, Customs and Excise Department, and other agencies, conducted a raid on an IT equipment vendor in Nonthaburi Province, seizing up to 9,540 counterfeit smartphones and tablets, with the involved amount reaching 33 million Thai Baht. Some devices lacked 5G capabilities, suffered from severe system lags, and were of poor quality. Most were sold through online platforms without legitimate storefronts, and there have been consumer returns due to device malfunctions.
NBTC Deputy Secretary-General Trirat stated that the company is suspected of violating the Radio Communications Act and will be dealt with according to the law. He also mentioned that there will be increased enforcement on the "Garuda certification label" in the future, and any forgery of the certification label will not be tolerated lightly. The public is encouraged to report suspected counterfeit products or suspicious advertisements by calling the consumer protection hotline 1166.
Meanwhile, the police in Wuhan, Hubei, China, also cracked a meticulously arranged "pig butchering" scam, achieving significant results.
On April 18, 2025, the Dongxihu police in Wuhan received a report from netizens and located a scam den in an abandoned factory in the suburbs. On the afternoon of April 23 at 5:30 PM, SWAT teams raided the site, capturing 32 suspects and seizing over 40 computers used for the scam, 280 mobile phones, and a large amount of "script manuals" and operation records.
The investigation revealed that the scam gang impersonated "wealthy beauties" on social media to establish emotional connections with netizens, promoting investment in virtual currency projects to lure victims into depositing money into fake platforms. The scammers completely controlled the platform data, fabricated "high returns," and designed the withdrawal channels as part of the scam, ultimately leading to the victims losing all their investments.
Currently, 20 suspects have been legally detained, and the case is still under further investigation.
