Thailand nabs four M'sians linked to Dubai-based 'Macau Scam'

BANGKOK: Thai police detained four Malaysians linked to a Dubai-based 'Macau Scam' syndicate for allegedly cheating several victims in the country of a total of 1.93 million baht (RM248,000).
The suspects, aged between 28 and 33, were picked up here yesterday and taken to the Phahonyothin police station to facilitate investigations.
Tourist Police deputy head, Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan said initial investigations revealed the suspects belonged to the 'Macau Scam' syndicate based in Dubai, which hires foreigners to withdraw money from victims of their scam in Thailand.
A police team also seized 10 ATM cards and five mobile phones from the suspects, he told the media today.
According to Surachet, who also heads the Thai Police Electronic Scam Operation Centre, the suspects withdrew their victims' money from several places in Bangkok, as well as in Nakhon Si Thammarat, in southern Thailand.
The suspects, who committed the crimes between March 10 and 18, frequently travelled to Thailand where they stayed for about a week to withdraw the money from their victims, he said.
Many of their victims, he added, were scammed in the Phahonyothin and Bangkhane areas in Bangkok and the Sansai district in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
For this year, a total of 427 warrants of arrest were issued against 'Macau Scam' suspects, with the authorities managing to arrest 249 of them, including 67 foreigners who are awaiting deportation. — Bernama