Police nab 16 in teen gang

Police nab 16 in teen gang

Excessive wealth turned out to be from an online gambling platform.

Police nab 16 in teen gang
In four regions, where 16 suspects were detained on Friday, authorities show some of the assets taken from eight locations connected to the AK1688 gaming system. ( Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham )

On Friday, authorities in four provinces detained 16 people on suspicion of being involved in an online gaming community.

Officials seized bout 40 million baht worth of assets, including vehicles, motorcycles, income, firearms, bankbooks, money counters, mobile phones, property deeds and jewels.

According to Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, the CIB captain, the arrests were the result of a police investigation that was brought about by a tip-off by native people who had noticed signs of excessive wealth among a group of teenagers in Chiang Rai.

Boss Ton and Boss Mick, the gang’s alleged leaders, were identified as the two teenagers. He claimed that because the teenagers had no particular sources of income, their wealth was very suspicious. The AK1688 betting system was responsible for the source of the funds, according to the investigation.

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said the system was properly organised, with people assigned certain responsibilities, including administration of bank accounts and the checking of electronic assets.

According to the authorities, the site has generated at least 200 million baht since 2021. It was hard for the police to find any of the money because it had been completely converted into digital assets, property deeds, and gold. According to Pol Lt. Gen. Jirabhop, the defendants intended to expand their app there as well.

All 16 defendants were charged with promoting online gaming, unlawful meetings and wealth fraud. They denied all the expenses.