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The Thai police arrest two key suspects in cracking centers

The Thai police arrest two key suspects in cracking centers

Bangkok: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested on Monday (February 3) two key suspects of the appeal centers in the arrest warrants issued by the criminal court for several accusations, including the public fraud by involving another person.

The suspects were identified as Ramil Phanthawong, 31, and Thanwut Kanyaphan, 28.

Ramil was arrested in SA Kaeo and Thanawat in Chonburi province.

Officer CIB, Pol Lt, JiraPhop Phuridech, said the arrests followed a complaint from a victim, who claimed that a person pretending to be a police officer called to accuse them of being involved in a case money laundering and drug tied.

The appellant presented false documents to instill fear and forced the victim to transfer over 4 million baht to demonstrate his innocence.

Subsequent investigations, including data from online police reports, have revealed that there are 163 other similar experiences.

The authorities quickly followed the suspects, which led to the issuance of arrest warrants for Ramil and Thanawut, who were supposed to posed as police officers to deceive victims for video calls.

Investigators found that the Call Center gang worked from a 18-storey building in the city of Cambodian border.

Gang included 50 members and was based on the 13th floor. The two suspects said they were recruited through social networks, with promises to work as administrators for a gambling site.

Upon arrival, their passports and phones were confiscated and had to work for the Call Center band.

JiraPhop said the government has addressed the issue of the Call Center band, but due to its cross -border nature, it must cooperate with the Foreign Ministry to solve it.

He said that the government is not inactive, but it was confronted with limitations, adding that the police and state agencies need to collaborate.

As for the methods used by suspects to deceive victims, JiraPhop said that AI technology has been used to change faces, which makes it difficult for authorities to identify perpetrators.

At the pursuit of the money route, it was discovered that the stolen funds were transformed into digital assets before being washed in the form of coins, including Thai Baht and Dong Vietnamese, before being distributed between the band members.

The investigation will be extended to track the principles behind the operation.

Meanwhile, Ramil confessed during the interrogation that he worked as a “first-line agent”, contacting the victims through a system called “Sim Box”.

He will be presented with the victims’ data and a scenario from the Chinese boss and a Thai supervisor.

Once the victim was hanging, Ramil handed over to the “second line agent” to continue.

Thanawut also confessed, recognizing his role as a member of the Call Center band.

His job was to involve a police officer for video calls to deceive the victims, including high quality figures such as actress Charlotte Austin and the Queen of Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, both of whom she has successfully cheated.

He would have claimed that if he does not comply with the orders, he will be physically attacked.

If they were successfully convinced victims to transfer money, they would receive some of the prey.

He also played the role of comforting the victims after their funds disappeared.

He claimed that he tried to get rid of the union, but was caught and beaten with a baseball stick.

Later, he allowed to leave the gang after being diagnosed with a heart condition. He was granted 40,000 Baht in travel expenses, he said.

Thanawut had returned to Bangkok just two weeks before his arrest.

He said that Cambodian police frequently showed to check, and when they arrived, the scams will get stuck in their rooms and would appear as if no one was around.

These checks took place about four or five times a year.

After the interrogation, the police took both suspects for additional legal procedures before requesting the judicial permission for an extended detention. – Nation/Ann