BANGKOK – Officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) on Nov 14 arrested Tao Qiang, a 39-year-old Chinese national, at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok as he attempted to flee Thailand.
He was detained under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on June 13, 2025 for charges including public fraud, inputting false data into a computer system, money laundering, and organised crime.
Police seized key evidence, including three mobile phones, 10 ATM/credit cards, 12 SIM cards, money-transfer receipts, and multiple deposit/withdrawal slips.
In late March 2025, a victim filed a complaint after being duped by a call-centre gang. The victim had seen a Facebook advertisement and was invited into a Line group with more than 700 members.
After successfully selling one item for 1,420 baht (S$56.80), the victim was told to register on a fake seller centre website.
Criminals then lured the victim into a smaller Line group named open shop visibility, where they were tricked into repeatedly transferring money to rotate stock as part of fraudulent activities.
The website displayed fake transaction balances, convincing the victim to invest more.
When the victim attempted to withdraw funds, scammers repeatedly created new conditions requiring additional payments. Ultimately, the victim lost over 2.9 million baht.
Investigators gathered evidence and secured warrants for 34 suspects: 10 Chinese nationals and 24 Thai nationals. The suspects included ringleaders, money launderers, beneficiaries, mule-account providers, account brokers, and cash-withdrawal operators.
Two large operations – on April 8 and May 7 – resulted in 28 arrests. Police also seized 12 laptops, 64 mobile phones, and various valuables, totalling over 6 million baht.
Further investigation found that Tao Qiang acted as a money launderer in Thailand, responsible for converting USDT digital currency into baht and yuan, before transferring the funds to other members of the call-centre network.
Over 18 months, he allegedly handled more than 330 million baht in USDT, exchanging it via multiple crypto-exchange platforms.
The suspect denies the charges but admitted to operating the digital wallets, claiming he exchanged funds at the instruction of Chinese clients. He has been handed over to investigators for prosecution. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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