3 Chinese nationals arrested in Bangkok for call centre scam
Officers from the Provincial Police Region 2 Investigation Division arrested three Chinese nationals at a condominium in the Prawet district of Bangkok on July 19 for running a call centre scam using a SIM box to contact targeted victims.
The Investigation Division of Provincial Police Region 2 explored the scammers who used the SIM boxes or GSM Gateways to remotely control multiple SIM cards from Thai mobile providers and call Thai victims, tricking them into work or investment scams.
Officers found three suspicious Chinese persons and tracked them to a condo in the Prawet district of Bangkok. Officers closely monitored the three alleged scammers on July 19 when they arrived at the accommodation in a car.
One of them exited the car and went to the condo room before returning to the car with a suitcase. Officers then revealed themselves and requested to look inside the suitcase. One SIM box and a lot of SIM cards were found inside.
Police then apprehended the other two Chinese suspects in the car and searched the vehicle. The Chinese suspects were identified as a 34 year old man named Jiajun Xue, a 33 year old man named Tianqi Mao, and a 35 year old Chinese woman named Meiling Lin. One of them had entered and stayed in Thailand illegally.
Three more SIM boxes and SIM cards were found in the car. The Chinese suspects confessed that they came to the condo to install more SIM boxes.
They faced three charges, including:
- Section 6 of the Radio Communication Act: making, processing, using, importing, exporting, or trading any radio communication equipment without a licence. The penalty is imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.
- Section 11 of the Radio Communication Act: installing a radio communication station without a permit. The penalty is imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.
- Section 67(3) of the Telecommunications Business Act: operating a telecommunication business without a licence. The penalty is imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 10 million baht, or both.
