Pattaya cops arrest duo in call centre mule bank account scam

Pattaya City Police, led by Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyoo, arrested a Thai woman and a Malaysian man on Wednesday, September 3, for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated call centre scam using mule bank accounts. The bust followed a tip-off from Krungthai Bank’s Financial Crime Investigation Team, which had flagged suspicious cash withdrawals linked to cybercrime.

The sting operation unfolded at Central Marina shopping mall on Pattaya Second Road. Pattaya Station Police and the Pattaya Transnational Crime Suppression Unit coordinated the arrests of 29 year old Kalya “Benz” Chinnarat and 25 year old Edmund Kee, as they attempted to withdraw funds from a Krungthai Bank counter.

Kalya had tried to withdraw 980,000 baht from her Krungthai account, which had been frozen due to suspicious activity. Kee, fluent in Thai, accompanied her during the attempted transaction. Officers seized three bank passbooks from Kalya, including accounts from Krungthai Bank, TMBThanachart Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank.

Investigators discovered that Kalya had been following instructions from a man known only as Thanat, who contacted her via the LINE app. She was directed to meet Kee at Big C South Pattaya before the pair took a Bolt taxi to Siam Commercial Bank on Pattaya Second Road. There, Kalya successfully withdrew 430,450 baht and handed it to Kee, who allegedly passed the cash to 23 year old Chinese national Wang Zhiyuan.

The scam escalated when the group withdrew another 720,740 baht from a different Siam Commercial Bank branch near Pattaya Beach Road, transferring the funds again to Wang. Their third attempt, at Krungthai Bank, failed, triggering the police operation that led to their arrest.

Kalya now faces charges including public fraud, money laundering, membership of a secret criminal organisation, and allowing her bank accounts to be used for illegal purposes. Kee has been charged with public fraud, facilitating cybercrimes, and similar offences relating to organised crime and money laundering.

Police revealed that Wang, the Chinese national alleged to be at the centre of the operation, has already fled the country, reported The Pattaya News.

Officers confirmed that investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider call centre scam network, which is believed to span multiple countries.