Bangkok bust: 6 Chinese arrested with 200k SIM cards
Police in Bangkok have dismantled a major call centre gang, arresting six Chinese nationals who had set up their operations in a luxury condominium in the heart of the city.
The suspects were found with an astonishing 208,652 SIM cards and 286 SIM boxes, alongside other electronic equipment. Entering Thailand on student and tourist visas, the group had been operating from their rented condominium for about two months.
Officers, led by Deputy Police Chief Tatchai Pitanilabut and various senior officials, conducted the raid at the condominium on Ratchadaphisek Road after noticing suspicious activities. The operation revealed a sophisticated setup across six rooms on the 16th, 17th, and 23rd floors, functioning as servers for their illegal activities.
The individuals arrested were identified as Fengran Wen, Zhang Jun, Li Yuning, Pang Ze, Yang Qun, and Yao Fan, who was noted as the gang leader. The massive haul included 636 mobile phones, a computer, 62 computer monitors, 84 computer cases, and four laptops.
Tatchai detailed that the immigration police’s initial intention was to verify the legal status of foreigners in the area, which led to the discovery of this crime ring. The discovery of such a large number of SIM cards in the middle of Bangkok has been flagged as significant. Each SIM box can handle 32 SIM cards, capable of making approximately 10,000 calls per minute or 600,000 calls per hour.
The arrested individuals are suspected of using the SIM boxes to register accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Line, utilising AI technology to expedite the process. This technology allowed them to deceive people efficiently. It is believed that the gang was responsible for managing the SIM box systems, addressing issues like power outages or device failures by quickly replacing equipment. Meanwhile, the scam operations targeting individuals were presumably conducted from abroad using Wi-Fi connections to the SIM boxes.
The six suspects reportedly entered Thailand with student and tourist visas valid for up to four months and had previously travelled to Laos and Cambodia. This aligns with reports of similar call centre gangs operating from neighbouring countries. One of the suspects admitted to swapping SIM cards and registering social media accounts, earning 20 Chinese yuan (around 93 Thai baht) per account by directing advertisements to attract clicks. They claimed to have been operating for about a month, managed by Chun Ge, another suspect, who supplied the SIM cards and paid 8,000 yuan monthly. The suspect professed ignorance of the illegal nature of these activities.
The charges filed against the suspects include illegal possession and use of communication devices without a license, running an unlicensed radio communication station, introducing false computer data into the system, concealing or disposing of goods known to be associated with illegal activities, and working without the appropriate permits. Only one individual faces charges related to employing foreigners illegally.
Following the arrests, Thai police plan to work with cybercrime units to further investigate and expand upon the findings. The suspects, along with the seized items, will be handed over to the Immigration Bureau for prosecution, with the eventual aim of deporting them from the country, reported KhaoSod.
