Thai gang arrested for 'smuggling Chinese nationals to Malaysia for call centre jobs '
A Thai gang was arrested for allegedly smuggling Chinese nationals into Malaysia to work in scam call centres.
The suspected traffickers were said to have received Chinese workers smuggled from northern Thailand before arranging their illegal crossings into Malaysia through the southern Thai border.
Police on Monday arrested the suspected ringleader Rosdee at a checkpoint in Narathiwat, while another gang member Nikhom was detained at a house in Chiang Rai.
The crackdown followed a raid on a resort in Songkhla province on June 7, where six Chinese nationals and one Myanmar national were arrested, along with more than 20 mobile phones.
The migrants had allegedly entered Thailand illegally from Cambodia and were believed to be waiting to travel to Malaysia for work at call centres.
Investigators expanded the probe and discovered the alleged smuggling operation. The gang allegedly charged each Chinese worker up to 65,000 baht each to enter Malaysia.
Rusdee was reportedly taking instructions from a foreign financier before contacting Nikom, who would then hire another suspect, Sombat, to arrange transport for the migrants from northern Thailand to Songkhla.
Once the workers arrived, Habib, another alleged member of the gang, took over and arranged for them to cross into Malaysia through unofficial border routes.
Police said arrest warrants were issued for the four men by the Songkhla Provincial Court on August 4 on suspicion of jointly harbouring illegal immigrants and helping them evade arrest.
Before the latest arrests, Habib was caught at his home in Yala on August 14, while Sombat was detained three days later at a house in Ayutthaya.
Police Colonel Charoenphong Khantilo, spokesman of Immigration Division 6, said: ‘This arrest represents an integration of immigration officers nationwide to eradicate an illegal migrant smuggling syndicate.'
Thailand has become a notorious base for Chinese crime gangs operating fraud and human trafficking operations in neighbouring Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
Many operate from heavily guarded compounds in remote border regions, generating billions through fraud schemes targeting victims worldwide.
