On Thursday, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) announced the arrests, which were part of the “Black Horse Down” operation launched in October after receiving multiple complaints. According to the DSI, the gang is suspected of swindling victims out of more than 50 million baht.

The operation began with eight arrest warrants issued by the Criminal Court, leading to police raids across five locations in Bangkok . The raid resulted in the arrest of five suspects, including three Thai women, one Thai man, and a Nigerian man.

On Wednesday, the DSI’s Foreign Affairs and International Crimes Office learned that the sixth suspect, a Nigerian man named Christian (surname withheld), was in the custody of Immigration Police for visa violations. The DSI took over the case and arranged for his transfer to their facilities for further questioning.

According to the investigation, Christian is the leader of the gang, which is believed to have used more than 1,000 mule bank accounts to process transactions totaling over 1.2 billion baht. The accounts were also linked to other criminal groups, including call centres, drug traffickers, and additional romance scam operations.

The suspects face charges of public fraud, uploading false information into a computer system, and money laundering. The DSI is continuing to track down other members of the gang and is working with the Anti-Money Laundering Office to uncover further accomplices and criminal networks connected to the operation.

The DSI has also issued a warning to the public about the risks of opening bank accounts for others in exchange for money or other benefits. Such actions violate the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes (2023) and can lead to penalties of up to three years in prison and/or fines of up to 300,000 baht.

For more information or to report criminal activities, the public can visit the DSI’s official website at www.dsi.go.th.

credit the Nation