Pictures courtesy of Naewna

 

Chiang Rai police have arrested a 35-year-old Chinese man, Mr Hu Haojie from Hubei Province, carrying 2,057 ATM cards while moving around the city. The arrest occurred on 23 October 2025 at 00:04 near Bangkok Bank on Thanalae Road, Muang District, after officers noticed his suspicious behaviour and attempted to flee. Authorities seized multiple ATM cards, transaction slips, two mobile phones, a Lenovo laptop and cash amounting to 537,900 baht.

 

During the investigation, police discovered that Mr Hu had been operating under instructions from other Chinese nationals via the Lark app, part of a network suspected of technology-based financial crimes. Charges include illegal possession of electronic cards belonging to others and facilitating the sale or use of bank accounts or electronic cards for criminal activity.

 

In a separate arrest, police at Chiang Saen detained Mr Rungroj, 35, from Mae Fah Luang District, after intercepting packages containing 34 bank books, 38 ATM cards and 39 SIM cards destined for Laos. The operation was based on intelligence about illicit transfers of financial instruments to “Grey Chinese” groups in Laos, linked to scams targeting the public. Police said the network was extensive, involving multiple individuals, mostly in their 30s, some working in temporary or casual jobs near the border. 

 

The combined seizures demonstrate the scale and sophistication of the operation. Officers emphasised the importance of public vigilance and awareness, noting that such scams exploit SMS, social media and other digital platforms to defraud citizens.

 

The Chiang Rai Provincial Police have pledged to continue investigating and seize assets associated with the networks to dismantle the scam operations. Officials highlighted the cooperation between the public and law enforcement as critical to uncovering and halting the criminal activities.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Police arrested a 35-year-old Chinese national with 2,057 ATM cards and over 537,000 baht in cash.

• A second suspect was caught attempting to send bank books, ATM cards and SIM cards to Laos for scam operations.

• Authorities continue to investigate the networks and educate the public on preventing technology-based fraud.

 

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  Adapted  by  Asean  Now from Naewna 2025-10-25

 

 

 

Now they need to go after everyone whose names were on the bank books, and especially the 2nd guy who had both bank books AND sim cards in the same names.  These people are accepting money from the scammers to open bank accounts and then handing everything over to the scammers, so they are just as complicit in the scams.

59 minutes ago, BrandonJT said:

These people are accepting money from the scammers to open bank accounts and then handing everything over to the scammers, so they are just as complicit in the scams.

Which in turn is what's screwing it up for so many expats having their accounts frozen. As a species, we suck.