A CHINESE man wanted by Beijing on suspicion of running over 200 illegal online gambling operations has been extradited.
A Thai appeals court on Monday approved sending She Zhijiang back to China, more than three years after his arrest in Bangkok on a 2014 warrant from Chinese police.
“Chinese authorities made a request for the suspect, who’s their top priority, and asked Thailand for cooperation, which we have supported,” said police Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, chief of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau.
She, a Chinese national believed to be 43 years old, also obtained Cambodian citizenship in 2017, and was active in South-East Asian countries. He became prominent after developing a complex in Myanmar’s Shwe Kokko city, near the Thai border, now notorious for online scam activities and human trafficking.
China’s Ministry of Public Security said he’s wanted for running gambling sites that have involved 330,000 people since 2017, with transactions exceeding 2.7 billion yuan (RM1.5bil), while harbouring 248 online fraud groups targeting Chinese citizens, according to Xinhua.
The US and British governments imposed sanctions on She for his alleged criminal activities.
A 2024 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said She “is known to have a robust business and investment portfolio across South-East Asia, and particularly Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines, spanning across industries including real estate, construction, entertainment, and blockchain technology”.
Cybercrime has flourished in South-East Asia, where law enforcement is weak, especially in Cambodia and Myanmar.
Casinos often served as centres for online criminal activity, including scams, after the Covid-19 pandemic hampered in-person gambling. — AFP
