National—
On April 17th, 2024, Mueang Thong Thani Royal Thai Police officers and relevant agencies held a press conference on “The Purge” operation to eradicate transnational criminals on Hybid-Scam networks. More than 250 million baht worth of assets was confiscated.
With cooperation from relevant agencies, it was reported that the suspects randomly contacted victims on social media platforms and tricked them into investing in cryptocurrency trading. However, to invest, the victims must first transfer their money into mule accounts to exchange it for digital currency to trade on fake platforms.
The cyber police officers investigated the case and found the prime suspect, publicly identified as Mr. Shaoxian Su, a Chinese national, and his accomplices. Moreover, the police found a connection to Thai nationals acting as nominees by investing in real estate and other assets under Thai identities.
Upon further investigation, the police launched “Trust No One” operations across Thailand, searching 72 locations and arresting three Chinese nationals. Furthermore, the police seized luxury condominiums, sports cars, cash, and other assets worth more than 1.9 billion baht in total.
The police found a connection after investigating the financial activities of Singaporean people also involved with the Hybid-Scam network.
The Purge operation was successful as more than 26 individuals were found involved in the scam. The police requested arrest and search warrants to hold them accountable for their crimes.
It was further reported that the Hybid-Scam network was also linked to transactional crimes in call scams and online gambling networks with a financial circulation of 30 billion baht a year.
