Deputy Commander "Jor" led a forceful raid to dismantle a Vietnamese call center gang involved in hiding crystal methamphetamine (ice) inside tamarind paste. Authorities seized over 40 baht of gold and numerous iPhones. A woman carrying 150,000 baht tried to bribe police but was arrested immediately at the police station.
At 13:45 on 6 August 2026, Police Chief Kittirat Phanphet, Deputy Police Chief (Investigation) Thana Chuwong, Deputy Police Chief and Director of the Police Narcotics Suppression Center Samran Nualma, Assistant Police Chief Jiraphop Puridet of the Online Fraud Suppression Center, Assistant Police Chief Krisada Kanchanalongkorn, Metropolitan Police Bureau Commander Siam Boonsom, Deputy Commander Wasan Techakakrasem, Deputy Commander Teeradech Thammasuthi responsible for narcotics, Commander Chaiya Petchpanya of Metropolitan Police Division 7, Deputy Commander Worapot Rungkrajang of the Investigation Division, and Police Superintendent Atsadawut Kwanmuang of Division 7 led a coordinated large-scale investigation. This followed tracing financial routes from a drug case involving ice hidden in parcels sent to Japan linked to Sompong Kaopadee, 50, and an online scam case where scammers kidnapped students and demanded ransoms, uncovering money laundering into gold bars and mobile phones.
In-depth investigation revealed the network operated systematically with divided roles, concealing their methods while living together in a hotel in the Nawamin area, Ram Inthra subdistrict, Bueng Kum district, Bangkok. On 5 August, Deputy Commander Teeradech led a raid arresting three Vietnamese suspects: 1. Ms. Thach Thi Kieu Hien, 29; 2. Ms. Lam Thai Ngan, 40; and 3. Mr. Nguyen Ba Nho, 33, all Vietnamese nationals. They were charged with being members of a criminal gang at Khok Kram Police Station.
Further investigation charged the three suspects with fraud against the public (call center scam) at Lumpini Police Station. Ms. Thach Thi Kieu Hien additionally faced charges of being part of an international criminal organization (hiding ice in tamarind paste sent to Japan) at Bang Yi Khan Police Station.
Police believe the seized assets are part of converting money obtained from scamming the public into gold bars and mobile phones before sending them to accomplices abroad.
During interrogation, Ms. Thach Thi Kieu Hien admitted she was hired to travel and purchase gold and mobile phones as instructed by a Vietnamese woman named “Hoa” via the Telegram app, earning 15 US dollars per day.
The suspect also admitted this was her third mission in Thailand. On 31 July, she was ordered to buy a total of 17 baht of gold bars. Each time she visited a gold shop, she presented proof of payment prepaid by the employer before receiving the gold and delivering it to a designated person in Bangkok.
The case began when victims received calls from a call center gang impersonating telephone company staff and police from Ranong City Police Station, claiming their ID cards were used to open accounts linked to money laundering. They also sent fake court orders and threatened victims to transfer money to “prove innocence.”
Victims were deceived into transferring 200,000 baht into the gang’s mule accounts. Suspicious, they reported to Lumpini Police Station, enabling police to investigate and uncover the network.
After the suspects were taken for questioning at Khok Kram Police Station, a tip was received that someone attempted to bribe officers for their release. Police reported to superiors and planned a sting operation.
Subsequently, Ms. Le Thi Hai, 39, a Vietnamese woman, drove a Toyota C-HR to Khok Kram Police Station, entered the mediation room, and handed 150,000 baht in cash to officers seeking assistance in the case.
Immediately after the money exchange, officers revealed themselves and arrested her, charging her with bribery. The seized evidence included 150 one-thousand-baht notes totaling 150,000 baht.
Deputy Commander Teeradech Thammasuthi, also a police spokesperson, stated that this case arose from expanding a drug investigation, uncovering a network linked to a call center gang tasked with converting scammed cash into gold and mobile phones before shipping them to beneficiaries in Vietnam.
“This operation doesn’t just involve scamming but also systematically divides roles to convert cash into assets that are hard to trace, cutting financial trails before exporting abroad. It reflects the planning and organized work of an international criminal organization,” said Deputy Commander Teeradech.
He warned the public to be cautious if anyone impersonates government officials or agencies, threatening or demanding money transfers to prove innocence. Such calls should be assumed to be from call center gangs, and contact should be terminated immediately, with reports made to police or relevant hotlines.
Currently, Khok Kram Police Station investigators are holding the four suspects for prosecution while expediting evidence collection and expanding efforts to track commanders, coordinators, and collaborators both domestically and abroad to bring them to full justice.