BANGKOK: Thai police have detained a 31-year-old Japanese national at Suvarnabhumi Airport over his alleged role in a transnational call-centre scam network linked to a yakuza organisation.
The Anti-Online Scam Centre (ACSC) said the arrest took place at about 6.30pm on June 7 under the direction of Pol Gen Thana Chuwong, deputy national police chief, and Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, assistant national police chief.
Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau, through the Special Operations Division, joined forces with the Immigration Bureau and ACSC officers to detain the suspect, identified as Takafumi.
Police said Takafumi was detained at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province after he was found to be a prohibited person under Section 12(7) of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522.
Authorities said there were grounds to believe he posed a threat to society or was wanted under an overseas arrest warrant. His permission to remain in Thailand had already been revoked.
He was later taken to an Immigration Bureau detention facility pending deportation to Japan to face legal proceedings.
The ACSC said the arrest followed an international operation held from May 26 to 28, when the centre worked with the United States Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies from 11 countries under the “3rd Joint Surge Week” campaign.
The operation was aimed at disrupting online scam networks across South-East Asia.
Following the crackdown, the Japanese Embassy asked Thai authorities to help track a transnational criminal network suspected of causing major financial losses in Japan.
Japanese investigators found that a yakuza organisation was allegedly behind a call-centre scam gang based in Cambodia, with Takafumi accused of acting as a key commander.
According to the ACSC, the network allegedly used a three-stage phone scam to trick victims in Japan.
In the first stage, victims received an automated call claiming to be from telecommunications company NTT. The message told them their phone line was about to be cut off and instructed them to press 1 to speak to an officer.
In the second stage, victims who pressed 1 were transferred to a front-line team, which allegedly tricked them into providing personal information.
In the third stage, the victims were passed to another team posing as police officers and prosecutors. They were allegedly threatened with claims that they were linked to the yakuza and pressured into transferring money for “verification”.
Police said the same network also allegedly created fake online job advertisements to lure people from Japan with promises of easy work, high pay and free travel.
Victims were allegedly flown to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, before being detained and forced to work as call-centre operators.
Authorities said the network was linked to at least 40 cases in 2024, with losses estimated at more than 1 billion yen, or over 200 million baht.
Investigators later found that Takafumi had allegedly entered Thailand to avoid prosecution and was preparing to use the country as a transit point to travel to a third country.
Officers were deployed undercover as tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport before spotting him at a check-in counter shortly before it closed.
Police then identified themselves, informed him that his permission to stay in Thailand had been revoked, and took him into custody.
The ACSC warned the public to be cautious of overseas job advertisements promising “high income, easy work and free travel”, saying such offers could be linked to transnational human trafficking or scam operations.
People are advised to verify overseas job offers with the Department of Employment before travelling.
The centre also warned people not to fall for automated calls or callers claiming to be police, prosecutors or government officials who say a bank account is linked to a criminal case and demand money transfers for verification.
Thai government agencies do not call people to threaten them or order them to transfer money to personal bank accounts for checks, the ACSC said. Anyone receiving such a call should hang up immediately. - The Nation/ANN
