Chinese-Thai Scammers Caught Red-Handed in Chiang Mai Mall

Pictures courtesy of Khaosod

Police in Chiang Mai have arrested four members of a scam network, two Chinese and two Thai nationals, after they were caught withdrawing more than 1.5 million baht in cash at the Central Chiang Mai Airport shopping centre.

The suspects were detained on 25 August in an operation led by Police Colonel Krittapol Yeesakorn, Commander of Provincial Police Region 5. Officers seized 1,539,000 baht, along with five mobile phones, six bank account books and transaction slips.

The Chinese suspects were identified as Mr Zhang, 37 and Mr Yi, 29, who acted as cash collectors. They admitted to working for an unnamed Chinese boss, earning around 45,000 baht a month from handling funds. They confessed to conducting similar withdrawals on at least three previous occasions, totalling roughly 5 million baht.

Two Thai nationals were also taken into custody. Ms Warimon, 33, allegedly recruited bank account holders, arranged meetings and handed over the collected money to the Chinese operatives. She admitted to involvement in an earlier scam involving more than 4 million baht. Mr Sarapong, 27, said he had only just become involved after being promised 8,000 baht. His bank account was used in the operation.

Police linked the seized money to one victim who had lodged a complaint with Phuping Police Station. The assets are expected to be returned once legal procedures are completed.

All four face charges of conspiracy to defraud the public, violating computer crime laws, operating illegal financial accounts and running unauthorised lotteries.

Colonel Krittapol warned that organised scam networks are increasingly shifting operations from Cambodia’s Poipet border to Vietnam, while targeting northern Thailand with more sophisticated fraud schemes aimed at different groups of victims.

The investigation remains ongoing as officers pursue additional members of the criminal network.

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-08-28