A luxury Bangkok mansion reportedly rented for ฿900,000 a month has been raided by Thai immigration police after authorities allegedly discovered a sophisticated call-centre operation targeting victims in Japan.
The raid took place on September 16 at a mansion on Soi Ekachai 112 in Bang Bon district, following a report about unusually large numbers of foreigners entering and leaving the property. Police secured a court warrant before conducting the operation.
Authorities arrested 15 people at the property. According to investigators, one Thai national and foreign nationals from Japan, China, Taiwan and Myanmar were among those detained. Police said the group allegedly worked as callers for a transnational fraud operation.
Mansion allegedly transformed into a fake police operation
Investigators said the property had been divided into separate rooms for different stages of the alleged scam.
One area reportedly contained desks and Japanese-language scripts used for initial calls. Another room allegedly contained Japanese police-style uniforms, badges and fake identification cards, which callers reportedly used during video calls to make the impersonation appear convincing.
The suspected scheme allegedly began with calls claiming that the victim’s name had been connected to a parcel containing illegal goods. The victim was then reportedly transferred to another caller posing as a Japanese police officer.
The alleged fake officer would claim that the victim was connected to suspicious financial activity and pressure them to transfer money supposedly for investigation or verification.
Police said the operation was apparently designed specifically to deceive people in Japan while being run from Thailand.
Property valued at more than ฿200 million
The scale of the operation has also drawn attention because of the property involved.
According to investigators cited in local reports, the mansion is valued at more than ฿200 million and had allegedly been rented for ฿900,000 per month for more than a year.
Police said a Chinese man had rented the property through a Thai nominee arrangement, while investigators believe the alleged ringleader may still be in Thailand.
Authorities are reportedly monitoring possible routes out of the country as the investigation continues.
Police seize computers, phones and other evidence
During the raid, officers reportedly seized computers, mobile phones and other materials believed to be connected to the alleged operation.
Police also reported finding poker-related equipment and suspected illegal drugs at the property. Those items are being treated as part of the wider investigation.
The 15 detained individuals face allegations including working without the required permits and involvement in transnational fraud, although the investigation remains ongoing and the allegations have not yet been finally determined by a court.
Thailand’s growing challenge with overseas-targeting scam networks
The case highlights how international scam groups can operate from inside Thailand while targeting victims in other countries.
Recent Thai enforcement operations have uncovered alleged networks using rented properties as bases for overseas fraud, allowing operators to conduct calls remotely while victims are located thousands of kilometres away.
Another recent investigation reported by Thai media involved an alleged cryptocurrency money-laundering network in which investigators traced more than ฿238 million in cryptocurrency transactions connected to multiple online fraud cases. Authorities said that investigation involved money allegedly moving through mule accounts before being converted into cryptocurrency. The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.
For the Bangkok mansion case, investigators have not publicly disclosed how many Japanese victims were allegedly defrauded or the total amount of money involved.
The investigation is continuing as Thai authorities work to identify additional suspects and determine the full scale of the alleged network.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
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