Thai police arrest six foreigners over major fraud and trafficking
The Immigration Bureau arrested six foreign nationals for financial fraud, human trafficking, and narcotics offences, according to Deputy Commissioner Police Major General Panthana Nuchanart.
In the first case, police arrested Pan, a 41 year old Chinese man, wanted in China for swindling financial institutions out of 560 million yuan (roughly 2.8 billion baht). Officers say Pan falsified business information to secure loans and used the money worth more than 80 million yuan for illegal gains.
Pan entered Thailand with a tourist visa in May last year and overstayed at a salon in Chon Buri, where officers tracked him down.
In the second case, officers arrested three Chinese nationals: 31 year old Yang, 21 year old Zhang, and Zhang’s 20 year old girlfriend Cheng.
Officers accuse the group of trafficking over 120 Chinese citizens to scam call centres operating in Myanmar and Cambodia by using fake job offers as bait. Police located the three at separate condominiums in Sukhumvit and Lat Phrao.
In another incident, officers detained Chen, a 37 year old Taiwanese national, after he visited immigration authorities while applying for a study visa. Taiwanese authorities accuse Chen of smuggling more than 54 kilogrammes of cannabis hidden in a container from Canada. He escaped Taiwan before the court issued a warrant for his arrest.
Bangkok Post reported that the final arrest involved Simone, a 26 year old Italian national accused of smuggling heroin, cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, and LSD through international parcels. Simone arrived in Thailand in October and stayed at a condominium in Ekkamai, where officers arrested him.
If convicted, each suspect could face severe legal consequences under Thai law. The fraud charge against Pan would likely draw punishments under the criminal code on cheating and fraud, which carries up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10,000 baht if courts classify his offences as general fraud.
The three Chinese nationals accused of trafficking people face the penalties specified in the Anti‑Trafficking in Persons Act, which sets prison terms ranging from four to ten years and fines between 80,000 and 200,000 baht for trafficking offences.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese national and the Italian suspect risk the harshest penalties under the country’s drug laws. If convicted for major trafficking or smuggling offences, courts may impose life imprisonment or the death penalty.
In a similar story, police arrested a Chinese man with a Vanuatu passport for 250 million baht embezzlement in his home country after he had been on the run for seven years.
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