Thailand Jails 70 in Record Call-Centre Scam Bust
BANGKOK — A Thai Criminal Court has sentenced 70 members of a vast call-centre scam network to prison terms of up to 24 years, marking the largest crackdown on scam operations in Thailand’s history.
The convicted group comprises 52 Chinese nationals and 18 Thais, who together orchestrated sophisticated fraud schemes that targeted victims both inside and outside Thailand.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) led the probe, uncovering the gang’s operations in a four-storey building in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The group posed as government officials and bank employees to deceive victims into transferring money, part of a growing wave of scams impacting Southeast Asia.
Victims from multiple countries were affected, underscoring the international reach of such fraud networks.
All 70 defendants were convicted on charges of fraud, transnational organised crime, and money laundering. The court handed the longest sentences — 24 years — to the group’s leaders. Additionally, two companies linked to the gang were fined 88,000 baht each.
The court ordered the scammers to pay more than 2.41 million baht in damages to two Japanese victims, roughly equivalent to ¥10.67 million and ¥450,000, in what authorities describe as a significant precedent in Thailand’s fight against international scams.
The bust followed an extensive investigation launched in November 2023. In March 2024, police raided the Nakhon Si Thammarat building, arresting 71 suspects, although one managed to escape.
During the raid, officers seized a massive cache of evidence, including 223 computers, 1,001 mobile phones, 14 iPads, 298 SIM cards, 86 bank accounts, and various smuggled goods. Investigators revealed that the scammers operated multilingual chat systems in Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Thai, allowing them to target victims across different countries.
Passports seized from Chinese suspects showed frequent travel to Cambodia, hinting at the network’s regional connections. Some had overstayed their visas, further complicating the investigation.
According to the Royal Thai Police, scams continue to be a massive problem in Thailand and neighbouring nations. Between 2022 and 2024, Thai victims alone lost an estimated 80 billion baht (about $2.37 billion) to phone and online scams.
Scam gangs often operate from bases in Cambodia and Myanmar, exploiting weak border controls and corruption to evade law enforcement. Police General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot noted that criminals frequently shift operations across borders, making it challenging to dismantle their networks fully.
International cooperation remains crucial in combating these scams. Thai authorities are collaborating with counterparts in Cambodia, China, and Myanmar to crack down on cross-border criminal activities. Recent operations in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region saw thousands of Chinese nationals deported for involvement in scam centres.
Meanwhile, authorities are calling on major tech platforms like Meta and Google to do more to block scam ads, citing the vast profits these networks generate — sometimes rivaling the drug trade.
Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, head of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau, hailed the sentencing as a “big win” for law enforcement and a stern warning to other transnational criminal groups.
Still, experts caution that scam gangs remain a major threat, evolving rapidly with new technology and shifting regional operations. The Thung Song Provincial Court’s verdict, however, stands as a strong statement of Thailand’s resolve to fight back.
