Police arrested fourteen Thai
and Chinese nationals for allegedly operating a large-scale credit card
fraud ring.
Boonlua Chatree
Fourteen Thai and Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly operating a
large-scale credit card fraud ring from a central Pattaya apartment house.
Officers from the Transitional Crime Coordination Center apprehended Chaisit
Bunpeng, 32, at a McDonald’s restaurant on Sukhumvit Road May 9 where he
allegedly used a fake Kasikorn Bank credit card and purchased an ATM card
skimmer from a police informant.
Under interrogation, Chaisit led police to the Navin Mansion behind Big C
Extra where nine Thai and Chinese men and four women were captured.
Officers recovered 20 fake electronic cards, three receipt slips,
information from two magnetic card strips, a credit card machine, a skimmer,
laptop computer and 15 mobile phones.
Police said the gang, allegedly run by 45-year-old Chao Bin of China, had
set up in two Navin apartments to download stolen credit card numbers from
Chinese customers and produce fake cards. Thais were used as lookouts,
police said.
The arrest came after Chao allegedly unwittingly contacted a Thai police
informant to purchase the skimmer. The officer went undercover as the
skimmer’s owner and met with Chao at the McDonald’s, where the suspect
allegedly laid out financial terms of the deal which would net the skimmer
owner 40 percent of any illicit profits.
In addition to Chao and Chaisit, police arrested Chan Kin, 46, Mak Yut Ming,
47, Kanokwan Sirilai, 42, Powari Phusa, 46, Parichat Bunkiriya, 44, Ramil
Nakharuethai, 33, Hattachai Sawatsoth, 33, Jeerapol Khongthon, 44, Somsak
Kerkthawatsak, 36, Pukpuk Jittapunya, 21, and Natthrapong Bunto, 36.
