Cyber police raided the "maruay 365" gambling network, which had operated for over two years with a monthly turnover exceeding 40 million baht. The operation was based near the Mae Sot border. Authorities arrested Deputy Lieutenant Bawon, who admitted to working as an admin handling customer contacts for the gambling site.
On 14 May, Police Lieutenant General Surapol Prembutr, Commander of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), along with Police Lieutenant General Naradet Thiprak, Permanent Commander of the Royal Thai Police Office, ordered Police Major General Kritsana Bamrungratnayot, Commander of CCIB Region 4, Police Colonel Norawat Kamphilo, Deputy Commander of CCIB Region 4, Police Colonel Puttipat Phanomchaijirakul, Commander of Division 4, CCIB Region 4, Police Lieutenant Colonel Chaiphat Chuesai, Deputy Commander of Division 4, and Police Captain Ploenpasit Prompao, Investigator of Division 4, led an investigative team to conduct a raid on targets related to online gambling in Tak province.
The investigative team, armed with search warrant No. 93/2569 from the Mae Sot Provincial Court, searched a house in Village No. 2, Mae Kasa Subdistrict, Mae Sot District, Tak province. They arrested 33-year-old Deputy Lieutenant Bawon Chammani, a Tak native, and seized evidence including one computer, one mobile phone, and one internet router.
The investigation found that the website “maruay 365” had over 64,000 members, had been operating for more than two years, and handled a turnover of more than 40 million baht per month, or over 480 million baht annually. It illegally offered online gambling services including lottery, slots, foreign football betting, baccarat, dragon tiger, hi-lo, pok deng, and many other types of gambling.
Payments for online gambling were made via automatic bank account transfers. Users could also request withdrawals directly through the website. The site had admins who assisted or acted on behalf of the website, including resolving issues with registration, financial transactions, and providing advice or encouragement to engage in online gambling on the site.
Investigations revealed that this gambling operation was based near the border area of Mae Sot District, Tak province. Authorities obtained a court search warrant to seize computers, computer systems, data, storage devices, electronic media, phones, communication devices, and online accounts. They accessed and collected data from mobile phones and online accounts, inspected and seized assets related to the criminal activities, including financial transaction documents and all evidence connected to the online gambling network or other illegal items before arresting the suspect with all seized evidence.
During interrogation, Deputy Lieutenant Bawon admitted he had worked as an admin contacting customers for this gambling site for more than three months and received a monthly salary of 20,000 baht.
He has been charged with the offense of “organizing or facilitating gambling, or directly or indirectly advertising or enticing others to gamble via electronic media without permission from the authorities.”