Scam call to Thai police official leads investigators to suspected telecom-fraud premises

Thai police recently dismantled a suspected telecommunications-fraud operation in Nonthaburi province after a scam call reached a deputy police commander. Investigators traced the call and searched an apartment under a court warrant, seizing equipment linked to the case. According to Thai police, on 20 October, Provincial Police Region 1 deputy commander Prathan Nantakobkul received a call from someone claiming to work for a telecommunications company. The caller falsely alleged that his account was linked to financial dealings with a southern drug group and demanded a transfer for “verification”. The official recognised the scam and asked for account details, whereupon the caller hung up. Police took the incident seriously. Technical officers traced a suspicious signal to suspected scam equipment in an apartment building in Bang Bua Thong district, Nonthaburi. At 10 a.m. on 25 October, officers acting on court search warrant K.903/2568, together with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, searched a fourth-floor room and found: One communications box capable of holding 32 SIM cards; One internet modem; One surveillance camera; One UPS backup power unit. To preserve evidence, police invited forensic specialists to collect fingerprints and DNA samples and compare them with crime databases. Preliminary inquiries identified the tenant as Noi, a 39-year-old woman from the province named in the source as «萨拉凯府», who had rented the premises for about a month. Police suspected a direct connection with the scam group and were preparing to apply for an arrest warrant. The suspect would face allegations including unlawful possession or use of radio communications equipment and establishing a radio communications station without permission. The investigation was continuing. Compiled report by this station