Police arrest woman for call centre scam and money laundering

Thai police arrested a 50 year old woman involved in a call centre scam and money laundering scheme after she served time in a foreign prison. The woman, Laksamee, was apprehended in Bangkok upon her return to Thailand.

Laksamee was arrested following a warrant issued by the Criminal Court on June 11, 2018, for charges including attempted fraud, being part of a criminal organisation, and involvement in transnational crime. Her capture took place outside a massage parlour in the Prawet district of Bangkok.

A 64 year old victim reported receiving a phone call from someone pretending to be a police officer, claiming the victim was implicated in drug and money laundering cases. The caller convinced the victim to transfer 120,000 baht to prevent the freezing of their bank account. The victim, believing the ruse, transferred the money and later filed a complaint with the police.

Upon investigation, Laksamee confessed to her involvement in the scam. She recounted that in 2018, she worked at a massage parlour in Bangkok before being persuaded by a colleague to work in Malaysia. There, she found herself employed by a call centre gang, earning 500 baht daily.

Along with eight others, she was instructed by a Taiwanese gang leader to pose as a Thai postal worker, using scripted dialogues to deceive victims before transferring to a male colleague posing as a Thai police officer.

Her phone and bank app were confiscated by the call centre scam gang.

The operation continued until Malaysian and Thai officers raided their two-story hideout near the Thai border. Laksamee suspects two colleagues, believed to be informants, facilitated the raid, as they were not arrested. She expressed regret over her incarceration in Malaysia and subsequent imprisonment in Thailand, which lasted three years and three months due to good behaviour.

Upon release, Laksamee returned to her hometown in Khon Kaen for two years before relocating to Prawet for work. Despite her attempts to move on, she was arrested again for her past crimes. She denied involvement in the specific 120,000 baht transfer, attributing it to the gang leader’s control over her phone.

Laksamee expressed deep remorse and urged others not to follow her path, reported KhaoSod.