Daughter of deputy mayor arrested for call centre scam in Thailand
The daughter of a deputy mayor in Nakhon Si Thammarat was recently arrested in Samut Sakhon for her involvement in a call centre scam. The arrest followed a comprehensive investigation by cyber police into the large-scale call centre fraud targeting Thai, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese nationals.
Cyber police, under the directive of Police Lieutenant General Trirong Phiuphan, coordinated a search operation across four locations in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
As a result of this operation, evidence linking Artitaya to the call centre was uncovered. An arrest warrant issued by the Thung Song Provincial Court on May 8 last year, led to her capture in front of a house in Phanthai Norasing subdistrict, Mueang district, Samut Sakhon province.
This investigation traced back to March 29, when cyber police, in collaboration with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Immigration Police, and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), raided four key locations in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
The operation dismantled a major Chinese-led call centre syndicate, leading to the arrest of 90 individuals, including both Thai and foreign nationals. Officers seized 192 computers, 854 mobile phones and SIM cards, 22 routers, and 342 bank account books in the crackdown.
Further investigation revealed that the 51 year old deputy mayor, Rewadi, had provided premises for the call centre operations and benefited financially.
Artitaya and her Chinese husband had fled from the Chandi subdistrict in Nakhon Si Thammarat to Samut Sakhon, where they rented a commercial building to sell online products imported from China, along with some Thai employees.
Police surveillance confirmed Artitaya’s presence at a house where her arrest was made. Her mobile phone indicated communication with Rewadi via the LINE app, although no direct phone contact was found. Rewadi and her husband, Lin, are also wanted in connection with the scam.
The charges against Artitaya include public fraud, impersonation, and introducing misleading data into a computer system. Additionally, she faces charges related to organised crime, including involvement in a secret society and a transnational criminal organisation.
Artitaya has been handed over to investigators at Division 3, Subdivision 5 of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau for further legal action.
The police continue to track down other fugitives involved in the case, urging them to surrender to the cyber police to face the charges, reported KhaoSod.
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