Chiang mai: Police arrested a call center gang while withdrawing money from an ATM, seizing hundreds of thousands of baht in evidence. Meanwhile, CIB police arrested “Ah Ching,” a mafia account mule.
According to Thai News Agency, police from the Technology Crime Suppression Center and Region 5 apprehended a call center gang at an ATM of a bank in Meechok Market in central Chiang Mai. The group included one man and one woman, along with three women who managed and collected the money. Authorities seized 290,000 baht in cash, bank books, and mobile phones. It is believed that the money obtained from this scam was intended to be sent to a Chinese boss in a neighboring country.
In a related operation, police from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested Ms. Na Lae, also known as Aching, at the international arrivals terminal on the first floor of an airport in Suthep Subdistrict, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province. She was apprehended on a warrant for multiple charges, including “joint fraud of the public by impersonating someone else, money laundering, and money laundering.”
The arrest followed a previous investigation into a website-based investment scam and a fake store page. Police discovered a money trail leading to a single destination. After arresting a cash withdrawal gang at a well-known shopping mall in the Lat Phrao area, authorities found that the gang operated under orders from a mysterious Telegram account. The investigation revealed that Aching was the mastermind behind the scam, persuading people to open mule accounts via Facebook under the pretense of “helping unbanked foreign tourists,” with a promise of high compensation of 7,000 baht per account (35,000 baht for five accounts).
Ms. Aching also acted as a “middleman,” coordinating between the extortion team and the Chinese gang, disrupting the financial trail to prevent the mastermind from being traced. Initially, she denied the charges, claiming she knew the other gang members, some of whom were ex-boyfriends, while others had courted her, maintaining she had no knowledge of the crime.