Pattaya Mule Account Raid: Police Arrest Five Thais and Three Chinese Men, Losses Put at Over 100 Million Baht

Thai police arrested eight people in a central Pattaya condominium on 5 November, saying they ran a network trading bank accounts and ATM cards for scammers, Matichon reports. Provincial Police Region 2 identifies five of the suspects as Thai, two men and three women; the other three are Chinese men. Police link the network to online fraud cases around the country with total losses of more than 100 million baht.

The raid

The search was carried out under a warrant from the Pattaya Provincial Court. The region's Cyber Investigation Centre led it with Mueang Pattaya police and Chonburi immigration officers, COP'S Magazine reports.

More than 100 items were seized, among them 22 bank books, 35 ATM cards, 28 SIM cards, 19 mobile phones and three laptops.

How the money moved

The group bought and sold accounts and cards that served as "mule accounts" to receive money taken from fraud victims. Investigators found the proceeds were then converted and passed through digital assets across several accounts and platforms, and are still tracing that trail. Police haven't said which scams fed the accounts.

Region 2's commander, Pol. Lt. Gen. Wasan Techa-akkharakasem, says police will widen the case to the people who supply the accounts, those who move the money and whoever runs the network. The raid follows the break-up of a separate ring that supplied company bank accounts to call-centre gangs.

What police tell the public

Don't take money to open accounts, sell bank accounts or hand over ATM cards, police say in Bangkok Biz News: the account becomes a mule and its owner can be charged.

To report a mule operation or an online scam, call the police hotline on 1441.