Scammers ‘moving through Thailand to new base in Malaysia’

Several arrests by highway police uncover Chinese nationals fleeing crackdowns in Cambodia

Police say they have detected a network set up to smuggle scammers through Thailand to Malaysia, as they attempt to flee crackdowns elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Investigators have seen a pattern emerging, with five arrests since February resulting in the apprehension of 26 suspects — 20 illegal Chinese migrants and six Thais — Highway Police commander Pol Maj Gen Pornsak Laorujiralai told a press conference on Wednesday.

Highway police stopped two vehicles in the southern province of Chumphon on Feb 7, arresting two Thais and eight Chinese people. The latter had no travel documents but carried about 150 mobile phones, he said.

The Thai suspects said a man identified only as Prasopchoke had hired them for 30,000 baht to transport the Chinese people from Lat Krabang in Bangkok to Hat Yai in Songkhla, which borders Malaysia. A Chinese consul in the southern city told police that one of the Chinese suspects was wanted for scamming, said Pol Maj Gen Pornsak.

On June 29, highway police arrested four Chinese men on an interprovincial bus in Chumphon. They had used other people’s names to buy tickets and planned to travel further to Malaysia.

On July 29, highway police arrested an illegal Chinese migrant in a Toyota Fortuner in Surat Thani. He had sneaked into Thailand from Cambodia and was heading for Hat Yai. Investigators discovered that he was wanted for fraud in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. A Thai driver was also detained.

On Aug 20, highway police stopped a Hyundai H-1 van with drawn curtains. Two Thai men and five Chinese men were inside. The latter had sneaked into Thailand from Cambodia and paid the Thais 20,000 baht for a trip to Chana district in Songkhla. Two of the Chinese men were wanted for online scams in China.

On Tuesday of this week, highway police arrested the suspect identified as Prasopchoke, mentioned in the first case in February. He was stopped in Chumphon while driving two illegal Chinese migrants whose mobile phones contained videos of scam centre workers being punished with baseball bats and electric batons.

“The five incidents show a clear movement of criminals sneaking into Thailand and travelling through the South to Malaysia to set up a new base,” said Pol Maj Gen Pornsak. “The relocation is part of the criminals’ strategy to eliminate evidence, avoid arrest and relocate scams.”

He warned Thai human traffickers that they could be also charged with participating in transnational criminal organisations.

Forest City connection

Many of the Malaysia-bound scammers are believed to be heading to Forest City, the $100-billion megaproject in southern Johor backed by the embattled Chinese developer Country Garden ​Holdings.

It is estimated that as many as 17,000 of the 26,000 residential units at Forest City are still empty.

The project has also been beset by a variety of environmental and regulatory issues since its launch in ⁠2016, prompting the government to introduce tax breaks and incentives in 2024 to try to lure investment and spur economic growth in the area.

Malaysian police in late July raided 32 premises hosting online ​scam activities in Forest ‌City, arresting 335 people — 309 of them Chinese nationals — and seizing assets worth about 1 million ringgit ($245,000).