Police arrest 23 Taiwanese in call centre scam

BANGKOK, Oct 22 - Police in the Thai capital on Thursday arrested 23 Taiwanese in relation to a call centre scam, deceiving victims in their homeland and mainland China to transfer over Bt1.2 billion (around US$40 million).

Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) deputy chief Pol Maj-Gen Panya Mamen said the arrest was a result of a cooperative operation between CIB, Thai Immigration police and Taiwanese police.

Thirteen suspects were arrested at a house in Bangkok's Huay Kwang district, while ten others were nabbed in the Laksi area, Gen Panya said. The gang leader was identified as Yao Wen Ho, overseeing the communications centre which coordinated calls for a scamming operation covering Bangkok and upcountry since September 2009.

The CIB chief said the gang made phone calls from Thailand to deceive Chinese on the mainland and in Taiwan to transfer funds to the gang for various reasons including tax refunds, pay credit card debt and theoretically receive free travel bonuses, causing Bt1.2 billion in damages.

Gen Panya said the call centre scam gang used counterfeit passports and visas to flee Thailand and that three fake passports were confiscated.

The scamming call centres are based in Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Each month, the centre has a quota to lure people to transfer at least ten million baht (US$330,000) so that it could be divided among gang members, according to the CIB chief.

The suspects were packing their bags preparing to travel to other countries at the time of the raid, said Gen Panya.

Initially, they have been charged for working in the kingdom without legal permission as they hold temporary visas and were conspiring to make counterfeit government documents and failing to notify authorities within 24 hours of their temporarily stay in Thailand. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-10-21

Police is very good in arresting foreigners like Iranian, Taiwanese, etc. for anything that cuts into their Thai friends scams. I never hear they arrest some Thai gang for ripping off people

Police is very good in arresting foreigners like Iranian, Taiwanese, etc. for anything that cuts into their Thai friends scams. I never hear they arrest some Thai gang for ripping off people

Eh?

Don't you pay attention to the news?

I know that I am getting old and the memory fades, but is this the same lot that have now been arrested three times, or is it three different groups of Taiwanese?

UPDATE

23 Arrested in Taiwanese Call Center Raid in Bangkok

Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers on Thursday arrested 23 Taiwanese nationals involved in the operation of a call center scam syndicate perpetrating their crimes on the residents of Taiwan and mainland China.

Bangkok, the 22nd of October 2010 [PDN]: CIB Deputy Chief Major-General Panya Mamen revealed the arrest to be a result of cooperation between the Thai Immigration Police, Taiwanese Authorities and the CIB.

Thirteen suspects were arrested at a house in Bangkok’s Huay Kwang district, while ten others were nabbed in the Laksi area. The operations head was identified as Yao Wen Ho, overseeing the communications center, coordinating the call scam from Bangkok since September 2009.

Full update is HERE

PATTAYA DAILY NEWS

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Gosh with 23 folks doing this you think they would catch them much sooner

interesting that they were nabbed just as they were packing their bags to leave.

the term "kill the golden egg laying goose before is flies off" springs to mind.....

nabbed as they were about to flee huh?

call me cynical but perhaps they stopped paying their "tea money" a little too early?

nabbed as they were about to flee huh?

call me cynical but perhaps they stopped paying their "tea money" a little too early?

No, you are not cynical but intellectually limited

it could be that the remainder of the group is staying at the same love hotel i am at on sutthisan road. many chinese, they fill two floors of this cheap hotel. wonder what they are up to...

All the groups arrested have been living short times in different locations, hence the reason the might have been packing when they were taken. They might even almost been arrested earlier but had just left at that time...and now they found them again.

They stayed a bit to long.