Thai police nab online lottery promoter in Roi Et Province raid
Thai police arrested a 44 year old woman for illegally promoting online lottery gambling on her Facebook fan page. During a raid today, February 14, police seized mobile phones and lottery tip sheets from her home in Roi Et Province. Arunee confessed to the crime, admitting she was paid a monthly fee to post gambling links by the website owner.
A successful sting operation by Thai law enforcement officers led to the arrest of a prominent online lottery tipster, who had been luring the public into illegal gambling activities. Today, police officers, acting on orders from Police Lieutenant General Worawat Watnakornbancha, Chief of the Special Branch Police, descended on a house in the Mueang district of Roi Et Province with a search warrant issued by the Roi Et Provincial Court.
The target of the raid was Arunee, a 44 year old woman, also known as Aum, who was apprehended in her residence. The police had gathered ample evidence, including nine lottery tip sheets and mobile phones used to facilitate the illegal promotion of online lotteries. Arunee was implicated in the crime of advertising or indirectly enticing others to gamble online, a clear violation of Thai gambling laws, reported KhaoSod.
The arrest stemmed from meticulous investigative work by the Analytical News and Special Tools Division of the Special Branch Police, who discovered that the Facebook page ตำหนักปู่เวสสุวรรณ อาจารย์ อุ้ม อรุณี had over 100,000 followers. The page regularly conducted live broadcasts, providing lottery tips and encouraging viewers to join online gambling groups through the provided links. The page directed followers to a lottery betting room named ห้องชื้อ เจ้าสมุทร.
Undercover agents posing as gamblers confirmed the illegal lottery operation, which could potentially deceive the public and constitute an unlawful enticement to gamble. Further investigation revealed that Arunee owned the Facebook account in question and was the one offering lottery tips.
During interrogation, Arunee admitted that the seized phones and tip sheets belonged to her and that she was responsible for the live broadcasts and posting the gambling links. She disclosed that she received a monthly payment of 100,000 baht (US$2,773) for her activities from the website owner.
Police have taken Arunee into custody along with the incriminating evidence, and she will face prosecution as per the legal statutes.
