Thai military arrests Chinese man with 38 Starlink receivers
Thai military and police apprehended a Chinese national for allegedly smuggling 38 Starlink satellite receivers, suspected to be destined for a call centre gang in a neighbouring country.
Yesterday, March 22, the Rachamanu Special Task Force, along with the anti-narcotics unit and police, set up a checkpoint at Ban Huai Yao, Village 10, in Dan Mae Lamao subdistrict, Mae Sot district, Tak province.
The joint forces inspected a white Isuzu pickup truck which was travelling from Tak province to Mae Sot. The vehicle was driven by a Chinese national, Lyu Huangyu.
Upon searching, officers found boxes bearing Makro and Shopee Food stickers. Inside, they discovered 38 Starlink satellite receivers.
Lyu Huangyu stated that he had collected the goods from Chiang Mai to deliver them to Mae Sot district, Tak province. Upon reaching Mae Sot, another individual was expected to take over the consignment.
It is believed that the satellite receivers were intended to be smuggled into Myanmar for a call centre gang operating in Myawaddy, Karen state.
The Rachamanu Special Task Force subsequently seized the items and detained the Chinese man, handing him over to the Pha Wo police station for legal proceedings, reported KhaoSod.
Similarly, Thai security forces have intercepted and seized Internet transmission equipment believed to be used by a call centre scam operation on March 11, preventing it from being smuggled across the border to Payathonzu, Myanmar.
Officers discovered 21 Starlink Internet transmission devices and four printers, equipment commonly used by fraud networks to facilitate their operations.
In related news, The Thai government’s controversial decision to cut power, oil, and Internet services to border areas near Myanmar has reportedly paid off, with losses from call scams plummeting by at least 200 million baht.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong revealed that since the power cut-off on February 5, there has been a significant drop in cybercrime activity, with call scams taking the biggest hit.
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