The suspect, named by police only as 38-year-old ‘Mr Rachasak’, was taken into custody at about 9:15pm at a passenger shelter on Thepkrasattri Rd late last Thursday night (Sept 18).
Officers from Highway Police Station 1, Division 7, noticed him loitering alone by the roadside when no buses were passing and stopped to check on his welfare.
According to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), which oversees the Highway Police Division, the officers’ routine approach quickly revealed that Rachasak was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on Oct 4, 2023 (No. 3382/2566).
He is charged with fraud and entering false data into a computer system in a manner likely to cause damage to the public.
A preliminary investigation found that Rachasak had been hired to open multiple bank accounts used by a call-centre gang to receive transfers from scam victims. Police said the network had moved more than B10 million through the accounts. Investigators also discovered that Rachasak is wanted in three other similar cases.
During questioning he denied the fraud charges, claiming he only opened the accounts and was paid B1,500 for each.
The arrest was carried out under the direction of CIB Commissioner-General Pol Lt Gen Jiraphop Phuridet and senior officers of the Highway Police Division. Rachasak was handed over to the Technology Crime Suppression Division for further legal action.
Police reiterated that people who open bank accounts for others can be prosecuted as accomplices in fraud cases and face severe penalties under Thai law.