Chiang Mai police officer ‘led scam gang’

At the festival where the Lampang church was ordained, a chief inspector was detained and harmed.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan,chief inspector at the Hang Dong police station in Chiang Mai, is arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang. (Photo supplied/Panumet Tanraksa)
Chief Inspector at Chiang Mai’s Hang Dong police depot, Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan, is being detained on suspicion of leading a call center fraud group. ( Photo supplied/Panumet Tanraksa )

Chi MAI- The Hang Dong police station chief inspector has been detained on suspicion of leading a call center call-center con gang.

On Friday nights, Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan was detained while he was receiving an ordination at a church in the nearby Lampang province’s Ngao city. According to Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, assistant chief of Provincial Police Region 5, he was taken to the Chang Puak place in Chiang Mai and was then taken off to a different location.

The officer is accused of obtaining equipment, setting up a train, and using common radio to operate a telecommunications company without authorization. The Chiang Mai Provincial Court had issued a warrant for him on Friday.

Pol Lt Col Bandit allegedly told authorities that he was only a gang member with Chinese partners and that he was not the leader.

His incarceration followed the fear of his child, Wanuchapond Akkarasirisinsopon, 26, and three people during assaults at three Baan Ua-arthorn housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, said Pol Maj Gen Weerachon.

The other three were Theerawat Akkarasirisinsopon, 22, Suwannarak Pongyos, 25, and Nang Thuzar Nyein, 25, a Burmese nationwide.

At the Baan Ua-arthorn jobs in Hang Dong and Muang towns, police officers discovered around 12 GSM gates, or SIM containers, which are products that are used for converting mobile networks into mobile phone numbers used internally.

According to rumors, Ms. Wanuchapond admitted to receiving payments of 8, 000 baht per month at each of the three places for the rental of three bedrooms and surveillance equipment.

She claimed she had no idea what the gadgets were and accepted the position due to the attractive give.

Police discovered that the group’s headquarters was located in Myanmar, opposite the Mae Sai region of Chiang Rai, using a particular monitoring device to track its movements.

Individuals made calling over the internet using the GSM portals. They duped subjects into believing they were calling Thai government agencies by transmitting signals through SIM boxes to turn them into home telephone numbers.

Each SIM field may carry 32 SIM cards, with a capability of up to 300, 000 names a month. The seized items had made erroneous calls more than 3.6 million times, according to a test.

The investigation is ongoing to track down the remaining accomplices, including Chinese and Thai offenders, said Pol Maj Gen Weerachon.

He said that no other soldiers are known to have been involved in the investigation and that officials are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be fired from the army.