Thai police arrest 13 in multimillion-dollar scam targeting Aussies
Thai police say over a dozen foreigners, mostly Australians and British, have been arrested for allegedly running an online investment fraud that had duped people out of at least $1.9 million.
Police on Monday raided a rental house in the province of Samut Prakan, neighbouring Bangkok, and arrested 13 people, said Jirabhob Bhuridej, chief of the police's Central Investigation Bureau, at a press conference in the Thai capital.
Jirabhob said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) informed Thai authorities last year of a scam group led by an Australian and a British citizen, and a joint investigation was launched.
The alleged scammers operated out of Thailand to swindle money from victims in Australia and potentially other English-speaking countries through online advertisements and phone calls to invest in long-term bonds with a promise of high returns, Jirabhob said.
Footage showed the men after being arrested in the rental house that was converted into an office.
Papers of alleged scam scripts and workflow were taped to their partitioned desks. There were also whiteboards the police said were used for tracking their progress, and clocks on a wall showing time zones across Australia.
Thai police said they staked out the house for several months and saw the men coming and going at times that coincided with working hours in Australia.
They said they confiscated a number of phones, computers and other electronic devices allegedly used for the scam.
Senior AFP officer Kristie-Lee Cressy said at the Bangkok press conference that at least 14,000 Australians had fallen victim to this scam.
'The group amassed at least $1.9 million in [Australian dollars] from Australian victims in just the short time it had been operating. Money that we say was stolen from hard-working Australians and not invested as promised,' she said.
'Shutting down this scam centre is a significant win for the communities of Thailand and Australia.'
Australian authorities believe the two leaders of the group had been running scams for many years and operating in several countries, including Indonesia, where they had escaped arrest before being found in Thailand, Jirabhob said.
The group of men arrested in Thailand on Monday includes six British, five Australians, one Canadian and one South African, officials said.
They said the suspects denied all wrongdoing, saying that they believed they were working legally for a legitimate investment company.
Immigration officials said they entered Thailand with different kinds of visas, including for retirement and education.
Jirabhob said they were initially charged with racketeering and working in Thailand without a permit. He said further investigation could lead to more serious charges, including fraud and involvement in a transnational organised crime.
Australian police officer Cressy said Australia suffered an estimated damage of $4.45 billion from online scams in the past four years.
A UN report in April said transnational organised crime groups in east and southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by authorities.
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Drones rain down in Israel-Iran
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Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I shouldn't have driven': Ezra Mam reflects on that crash, Leniu, and the lessons learned
'Definitely. We've had a chat, and we're comfortable with each other now,' Mam says. 'The biggest thing is that we addressed it. I feel for Spencer, too, it would not have been an easy thing to deal with, either. 'I really respect him for coming up to me and we can move on from that. If we are ever in the same team, I wouldn't have a problem.' Footage of that Leniu embrace sparked a fresh slew of headlines. Mam has been no stranger to them in his young career. Not all of them have been positive. Few figures in Australian sport have ridden a rollercoaster quite like Mam's past 24 months. In the 2023 grand final, for all but the last 20 minutes, the Brisbane playmaker was the best on ground. However, a late Nathan Cleary masterclass wrenched away not only a premiership ring, but also a Clive Churchill medal. Then there was the Leniu incident, and the media storm that ensued. Yet nothing could prepare him for what was to come. 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I feel very remorseful for everything that happened. 'For me, I was dealing with stuff in the wrong way. I need to learn from that. That's how I grow as a person. Experiences like this, you can take a lot away from it and I feel like I've taken a lot away from this situation to improve myself in many different ways.' In handing down his sentence, Magistrate Mark Nolan chided Mam for taking 'a cocktail of cocaine and other matters that were found in your blood'. It is a comment that has been seized upon in much of the subsequent reporting, and prompted some commentators to conclude the penalties were insufficient. While Mam makes no excuses for his behaviour, he clarified that the only substances detected in his blood outside of cocaine were 'Paracetamol and Ibuprofen', which were administered to him at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. 'I shouldn't have driven,' he says. 'There was cocaine in my system, 0.01mg in my blood, which was from days earlier. That's my biggest regret, I wish I had not done that in the first place.' 'There's no excuse for my actions, I've got to own that now. I'm still learning to deal with everything.' Ezra Mam on the crash incident On legal advice, Mam has not been able to reach out directly to the victims of the accident. 'To be honest, I was more worried about everyone else than myself,' he says when asked if he feared his Broncos contract would be torn up. 'I just wanted to care for others in the accident, how they were first and foremost … 'For me now it's about getting back to who the real Ezra is. Doing the little things on and off the field the right way, continually working on myself to be a better person on and off the field. 'For me, I want that final goal, which is the grand final premiership. And to be a role model, for kids to look up to.' The last comment resonates. The personal growth Mam has undertaken since the incident hasn't been lost on Michael Maguire. 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'I'd wake up at 4:30am to train at 5am and then shoot over to work. I'd work from 6:30-7am to about 3:30-4pm and then be back to the gym. 'For me it was a big couple of months. A bit of carpentry, concreting, bit of everything. I learnt a lot of skills on the way. Coming back into Q Cup, working every day, I'm privileged to be doing what I love doing. 'As he goes through this period, he will learn how to lead, not just through the organisation, but also his own people of the Torres Strait Island.' Broncos coach Michael Maguire 'That's what I've been doing since I was a young kid, I'm very fortunate to be back playing and doing what I love to do.' Just four NRL games into Mam's return, Queensland coach Billy Slater called him into his wider squad for Origin II. The decision hasn't gone down well with everyone, particularly those who believe he should have paid a greater penance. Loading 'I'm really self-focused on the moment, looking to better myself,' he says. 'I appreciate that others may be upset. I can't control other people's thoughts, all I can do is hopefully start to rebuild some integrity over time with my actions. If I'm allowed to play, obviously I'll play. 'I was very surprised and grateful for the [Maroons] opportunity and took it with both hands. 'When [Slater] calls, it's hard to deny a chance to go into the Origin squad, you always say yes. It was a good experience for me.' During a career that has spanned just 60 games, Mam has already endured a bumpy ride. The destination remains unknown, but he is excited about what comes next.
