The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police raided four secret locations in Bangkok and arrested two leaders—one Thai and one Chinese—of Thailand’s largest call center scam gang, seizing over 18,000 pieces of evidence in the process.
During a press conference held on October 9 at 4 p.m., CSD officers reported on the details of the operation, dubbed “Thieves’ Bridge Explosion.” The arrested suspects were a 33-year-old Chinese man, Lin Chuangqin, and a 68-year-old Thai man, Teeraphat Uttaraphiromsuk. The arrests were made at the first raided location, a two-storey house in Soi Happy Land Townhouse, located in the Bang Kapi district of Bangkok.
Police confiscated a variety of tools used in the scam operation. At the first location, officers seized 28 SIM boxes and 10,000 SIM cards. At the second location, another 20 SIM boxes and 2,000 SIM cards were recovered. In total, four locations were raided, including two houses and two condominium units in Bang Kapi.
CSD officers revealed that the Thai suspect, Teeraphat, had a background as a SIM card vendor with over five years of experience. He confessed to registering more than 10,000 scam SIM cards in his name, earning a monthly income of 50,000 to 60,000 baht from the illegal activity.
The Chinese suspect, Lin, worked as a retailer for the call center scam organization and had entered Thailand under a visa-free policy. He overstayed his visa by 37 days before being apprehended. Lin claimed his role involved managing the phone and SIM card system for the gang, and he was paid in cryptocurrency. He also said the gang’s primary leader was a Chinese national, though he did not know their identity.
Authorities also discovered that Teeraphat had a prior criminal record, having been arrested in 2005 for working with a hacker, Thaweesup Lalitsasiwimon, to access True Corporation’s prepaid card systems, resulting in a 105 million baht loss for the company.
Other raids resulted in significant confiscations, including 5 SIM boxes, 370 mobile phones, and 6,000 SIM cards at the third location. The fourth raid uncovered 39 SIM boxes, 103 mobile phones, and additional documents, as well as Chinese yuan cash.
This operation is the largest raid on a call center scam gang in Thailand’s history. According to Thatchai Pitaneerabut, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), the operation has significantly disrupted the gang’s activities. He also mentioned that the RTP plans to work with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to tighten SIM card registration and prevent further illegal use.
The gang had set up its headquarters in Bangkok and used Thai SIM cards, as local targets were less likely to ignore calls originating from within the country, a tactic that made their scams more effective. Authorities are still investigating the unidentified Chinese leader who is believed to be the mastermind behind the operation.
Photo ThaiRath
