Police bust illegal warehouse storing 16,000 malware-infected counterfeit memory cards

Police busted an illegal warehouse storing 16,000 malware-infected counterfeit memory cards in Thailand.

The Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECSD) raided the warehouse in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, on September 1, following complaints from disgruntled customers who had purchased memory cards and flash drives online.

The buyers claimed some of the memory cards did not work at all or had far less storage capacity than advertised, while others reportedly infected their computers with viruses.

The ECSD launched a probe before tracing the products to the warehouse, which was composed of two adjoining buildings connected by a passageway.

The facility contained both a workspace and storage area, where Thai workers packed and the devices out for shipping.

During the raid, police seized 16,245 memory cards, including 390 Oppo cards, 8,745 SanDisk cards, 325 HP cards, 3,675 Xiaomi cards, 2,870 Kingston cards and 240 FNK Vision cards.

They were found in boxes wrapped in black plastic and disguised as rubbish to avoid inspections.

Officials said the items did not meet industry standards or bore counterfeit trademarks.

Police Major General Thatphum Jaruphat, commander of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, said the warehouse caretaker claimed the operation was financed by a foreign national.

He said investigators were working to uncover the wider network behind the counterfeit products.

The police chief said: 'A warehouse caretaker said that the owner was a foreign financier.

‘We will expand the investigation to identify the accomplices, the source of the products, suppliers, distributors and all other individuals involved for prosecution.

'The public should be careful when buying unusually cheap IT products online. They could end up wasting their money on poor-quality products, while also putting their devices and personal data at risk of viruses and data loss.'