Online gambling raid nets three arrests, seizes over 920,000 baht

The police conducted a series of raids on properties in both Bangkok and Loei on Saturday, apprehending three individuals under dubious circumstances, allegedly tied to the operation of online gambling websites.

Deputy National Police Chief Roy Ingkapairote yesterday revealed that these arrests were the handiwork of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) who’d been inspired by suspicious activities linked to several online gambling sites, amongst which betfixroyal.com was prominent.

The arrested online gambling trio, christened by law enforcement solely as Suchanan, Oranee, and Natthawat, found themselves the focus of the crackdown.

The enforcers managed to round up substantial evidence, hauling away 100 bank passbooks, 55 ATM cards, 30 mobile phones and a hefty amount of cash counting up to 920,000 baht. Several items of electronics like laptops and iPads followed suit, along with an impressive white Toyota car, with an estimated 1 million baht price tag.

Roy affirms that a multitude of users, to the tune of 50,000 were found to be indulging in these online gambling websites, the total cash flow of which added up to over one hundred million baht.

All detainees have now been slapped with a series of charges, including incitement of online gambling activities alongside association with money laundering practices.

Roy further elaborated that several online gambling scams, prevalent in northern parts, seemed to have the suspects’ fingerprints all over them, leading officers to levy additional charges under the Royal Decree on Cyber Crime Prevention and Suppression.

In addition to the upcoming investigation, the Anti-Money Laundering Office will receive a notification to freeze the questionable assets of these suspects, further deepening the probe.

The series of recent arrests trod a path similar to the apprehension of the notorious Pongsiri Thanratchawongsuek, also known as Boss Than, captured in Phayao on June 20. Pongsiri, chairman of the Lamphun Warriors Football Club, found himself in hot water over allegations of helming the illegal online gambling site, TS911.com.

Investigations found that his website was fraudulent by design, allowing users to gamble by easily scanning a QR code displayed on the Line mobile application.

Under the scope of these online gambling arrests, Pongsiri’s site was revealed to host a whopping 40,704 users whilst garnering 7,017 followers on Line.

Valuable assets linked to Pongsiri, including his dwelling, plot of land, and an array of luxury cars, totalling one billion baht, were seized by the authorities reported Bangkok Post.