The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) Unit 2 tracked and arrested an 18-year-old mule account holder who was part of a gang scamming students by selling computer equipment. Victims transferred money to buy items but never received them.
On 8 Sep 2026 GMT+7, Pol. Lt. Gen. Suraphol Prembut, Commander of the TCSD, Pol. Lt. Gen. Naradet Thiprak, Commander assigned to the Royal Thai Police Office, Pol. Maj. Gen. Thinkorn Rangmat, Deputy Commander of TCSD, ordered Pol. Maj. Gen. Kritach Bamrungrattanayot, Commander of TCSD Unit 4, Pol. Col. Anucha Srisamrong, Chief of Unit 2, TCSD Unit 4, Pol. Lt. Col. Phromphon Nitwiboon, Deputy Chief of Intelligence Analysis at TCSD Unit 4, serving in Unit 2, and Pol. Lt. Col. Yutthaphong Amromkonsil, Superintendent of Unit 3, assisting Unit 2, along with Pol. Lt. Col. Prempracha Utama, Superintendent of Intelligence Analysis at TCSD Unit 4, serving in Unit 2,
led an operation to arrest Thanachot, 18, from Buriram Province, wanted under Criminal Court warrant No. 5178/2569 dated 28 Aug 2026 GMT+7, charged with fraud by deceit against the public and entering false or distorted data into computer systems likely to cause public harm.
The arrest followed reports since March 2026 GMT+7 from multiple student victims who ordered computer parts via a Facebook page named “Tanachot Apinet.” They transferred payment but never received the goods, revealing the page was operated by scammers. The total losses reached hundreds of thousands of baht before victims reported the crime to cyber police to pursue prosecution.
Subsequent investigation by TCSD Unit 2 identified Thanachot as part of the scam gang, acting as the mule account holder to receive victims’ payments. Authorities gathered evidence, obtained an arrest warrant, and apprehended him in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan Province, on 7 Sep 2026 GMT+7.
During preliminary questioning, Thanachot admitted that after leaving work with an online gambling site in Poipet, he was hired for online work by an employer who requested his ID card and bank account number. However, no real job materialized. Instead, money was gradually transferred into his account, and each time funds arrived, the employer instructed him to send OTP codes to facilitate cardless ATM withdrawals before the account was frozen and he was arrested.