Malaysian UFA agent held in Thailand gambling probe

Thai cybercrime police have arrested a 48-year-old Malaysian national accused of acting as a “Master Agent” for the UFA online gambling network in Thailand.

Mr Lim Teck Wee was detained with 16 million baht in cash, six mobile phones, bank passbooks, ATM cards and a cash-counting machine, police said. He faces allegations of arranging online gambling, conspiring to launder money and money laundering.

The arrest was reported on 3 September and was carried out under the Criminal Court arrest warrant, numbered 5213/2569, was dated 1 September 2026.

Probe followed Operation VAR raids

Police said the case grew out of "Operation VAR", an earlier crackdown on the soodaza website. Investigators alleged that the site carried unauthorised links to overseas football broadcasts while embedding advertisements for more than 20 gambling websites connected to the UFA network.

Four suspects were arrested in that initial operation, according to police.

The investigation was then expanded to UFAMaster, described by officers as a one-stop gambling platform offering international football betting, casino games and slot machines. Police said they found more than 10 million baht in financial daily turnover.

Investigators alleged that the network used nominee or mule accounts held by both individuals and companies, moving money through several transactions before converting it into cryptocurrency in an effort to launder funds.

LiveScoreThai link alleged

Police also alleged that the network promoted gambling through the well-known LiveScoreThai website. They said the site both directed users towards gambling platforms and streamed overseas football broadcasts without permission from rights holders.

Mr Lim is alleged to have recruited customers and linked gambling websites to the UFA network in Thailand. Police said he also exchanged funds into digital assets, including cryptocurrency, for gambling website owners.

Cybercrime police said they will widen the investigation and pursue all those involved under Thai law.

Picture courtesy of ThaiTabloid

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5 September 2026

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