House of cards: Vietnamese nationals busted in Bangkok gambling raid

Immigration Bureau officers raided a luxury house in the Rama 9 neighbourhood of Bangkok and arrested 18 Vietnamese nationals for running a gambling website.

Immigration police revealed to several news outlets in a press conference yesterday, March 7, that they successfully suppressed an online gambling gang run by a Vietnamese investor on March 5. They arrested 18 Vietnamese suspects at a house in Bangkok’s Rama 9 area, including 10 men and eight women.

Officers said the investigation into the gang began after a tip-off from a local in the area. According to the complaint, the lights in the house were left on all day and night, and the foreigners inside acted suspiciously. More than 20 foreigners lived in the house and rarely went out.

Police conducted a further investigation and closely monitored the behaviour of each foreigner in the house until it was clear that they were running an online gambling platform. They then requested a search warrant from Phrakanong Criminal Court and raided the house on March 5.

According to police, the first floor of the house was converted into an office with more than 10 sets of computers, and the second floor was used for living quarters. Officers seized 32 computers and other tools during the operation.

All of the Vietnamese suspects admitted to working as administrators for the gambling website. They were responsible for topping up each user’s account and promoting the gambling site. They worked 24-hour shifts to ensure the continuous availability of the gambling website online.

The Vietnamese people revealed that they earned 20,000 baht per month together with a commission from inviting news users to the site. They have been working at the house since November last year.

They were charged under Section 12 of the Gambling Act: organising or promoting gambling. The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years, a fine of up to 2,000 baht, or both. Each Vietnamese suspect was transferred to Hua Mark Police Station for further processing.