Nakhon Si Thammarat —
On November 11th, 2024, Thai cyber crime investigation officers announced the successful takedown of a major Chinese-led call center gang operating in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
The crackdown followed a large-scale raid on March 29th, 2024, involving over 100 officers targeting four locations associated with the gang, which had been defrauding Thai, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese victims.
The operation led to the arrest of 90 suspects, including Chinese nationals, Thai accomplices, and other foreign members. Police seized significant evidence, including 192 computers, 854 mobile phones with unregistered SIM cards, 22 signal routers, and 342 bank accounts linked to mule accounts.
Further investigation revealed that a deputy mayor was implicated, allegedly providing rental property used by the call center gang. However, authorities declined initially to release the name of this official, citing further investigation being needed.
The gang leader, Jiang Zaitian, 33, had been responsible for transporting Chinese operatives between local residences and hotels. Jiang attempted to flee during the March raid but was apprehended on November 10th at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Initially, Jiang now faces multiple charges, including fraud, impersonation, transnational organized crime, and computer-related offenses, with legal proceedings underway.
