Thais arrested in raid on casino hotel 'laundering money in Cambodia'
Thais were arrested at a casino hotel for allegedly laundering money for a Cambodian scam network.
The gang reportedly moved stolen funds through mule accounts, fake companies, and sham investment platforms under orders from Chinese bosses.
Police launched a crackdown, dubbed 'Dismantling the Third Dragon's Den in Poipet', to take down the alleged transnational criminal network based in Cambodia.
Officers raided a luxury hotel in Bangkok on June 19, where the suspected Thai scammers were believed to be hiding.
Among those arrested was alleged Thai ringleader Kritphat, 30, who police said managed the syndicate's money-laundering operations in Thailand.
Footage shows cops storming into a hotel room, where Kritphat and another high-ranking employee Sitthi, 45, had been staying.
The pair were detained with 70 methamphetamine pills among their belongings.
But before they could be hauled away, Kritphat allegedly collapsed from shock and had to be taken to hospital. Video shows him being moved through the hospital corridors on a wheelchair.
Authorities said Kritphat had spent months evading capture by constantly moving between high-end hotels, using multiple mobile phones registered under other names and relying on associates to conduct transactions on his behalf.
Investigators tracked him down to the luxury hotel in Bangkok's Lang Suan district and spent days staking out the building. Officers raided the room when his associate, Sitthi, finally emerged days later.
Police also arrested another alleged gang member, Phonthawat, 33, in Chonburi. Investigators said he translated instructions from Chinese gang leaders in Cambodia before relaying them to members of the Thai network.
His girlfriend, Natthaporn, 24, was later arrested near Bangkok for allegedly helping provide bank accounts used by the operation.
The four suspects face charges of conspiracy to defraud the public through impersonation, entering false computer data causing public harm, participation in a criminal gang and criminal organisation, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
During the raids, officers seized company registration documents and rubber stamps linked to more than 20 firms allegedly created to conceal the movement of ill-gotten funds.
Police said money stolen from scam victims was channelled through an investment platform called 'W' before being transferred through dozens of mule accounts and withdrawn as cash or converted into gold.
Authorities said arrest warrants have also been issued for two Chinese nationals - identified as Tao and Xiong who reportedly oversaw the gang's finances - and a Cambodian police officer Nov Sopheak accused of protecting the syndicate in Poipet.
Police said the investigation is continuing against at least 31 additional suspects and three companies believed to have been used as fronts for the money-laundering operation.
Chinese-led scam gangs operate large-scale fraud compounds in Cambodia, often luring victims online through investment, romance and cryptocurrency scams.
Authorities believe the networks generate billions of dollars and are often linked to human trafficking, forced labour and transnational organised crime.
