15 South Koreans, two Chinese arrested over alleged call-centre scam in Thailand
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The four men arrested in Pattaya, Thailand were the subject of Interpol Red Notices.
PHOTO: THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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BANGKOK – Thai police from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have arrested 15 South Korean men and two Chinese men in coordinated raids in Pattaya and Bangkok for allegedly running a call-centre gang that defrauded victims of about 500 million baht (S$20.4 million).
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced the operation at a press conference on Dec 8, saying it had been code-named “Thailand–Korea Breaking Chains”.
Embassy tip-off leads to Pattaya raid
The CIB said the operation was launched after the police liaison officer at the South Korean Embassy alerted Thai authorities that a call-centre gang targeting South Korean nationals was operating out of Thailand.
Using information from the embassy, TCSD officers raided a house in Pattaya, where they arrested four South Korean men.
Police said the four suspects admitted to being members of a call-centre gang that had previously operated in Cambodia before relocating to Thailand following a crackdown there
The four men arrested in Pattaya were the subject of Interpol Red Notices. They allegedly lured victims into investing in a resort project called “Genting Malaysia”.
Condominium units in Bangkok turned into call-centre hubs
Information from the Pattaya suspects led officers to two condominium units in Bangkok’s Phra Ram 3 and Lumpini areas.
Police said they arrested a further 11 South Korean men and two Chinese men at the two locations.
Police Colonel Panupat Kittipan, commander of a TCSD subdivision, said the condominium units had been converted into the gang’s operation centres, equipped with computers and internet connections.
Police also found scripts allegedly used by gang members to deceive their victims.
Col Panupat said the gang had allegedly cheated victims out of 20 billion won (S$17.6 million).
Police seized computers, 35 mobile phones and 50 VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones as evidence.
Pyramid scheme targeting South Koreans
Col Panupat said a representative of the South Korean Embassy informed Thai police that the gang had been deceiving South Korean nationals from Oct 17, 2024 to May 28, 2025, mainly by persuading them to invest in a pyramid-style scheme.
He added that the gang initially operated in Cambodia but moved its base of operations to Thailand following renewed tensions along the Thai–Cambodian border
