Overstayers: Thailand’s Tourist Police Chief led a big raid on a call center operation at a northern Bangkok condominium yesterday.
It was as much a raid on people who have overstayed as those involved in crime.
Surachet Hakpan along with 191 special branch and immigration officers raided the Ban Suan Thon condo in Ratanathibet, Nonthaburi.
In two rooms on the second and first floors they found six Taiwanese men and two Chinese women running call centre scams.
There were no passports at the premises with those arrested claiming they were extending their visas.
Video and communications equipment was taken into evidence.
Surachet said that the raid was under ministerial orders to crack down on the estimated 200,000 over-stayers in Thailand but in this case the illegal immigrants were involved in serious crime also.
The chief said that 89 arrest warrants were being acted upon to round up over-stayers.
Surachet – previously referred to as head of 191 – is now being named in the Thai media as fronting the Tourist Police
