BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN): Ten French citizens were arrested in Bangkok on Wednesday (Jan 8), accused of working illegally at an international call centre.
Immigration Police chief Lt-General Sompong Chingduang said on Thursday (Jan 9) that officers acting on a tip had a court-authorised search warrant to enter the building on Soi Thong Lor 25 in Wattana district, a four-storey house modified for office work.
Police found laptop computers and signal transmission devices for communicating with overseas clients.They arrested seven men and three women, all French nationals, Sompong said.
Nine of them had tourist visas and were charged with working without a permit.The 10th had a work visa, but for an occupation unrelated to computers or online business. That person was charged with working outside an authorised field.
Sompong quoted the suspects as saying they’d been working in Thailand for about a month, dealing with clients mainly in France and Belgium.
“They told their clients they were agents for a Singaporean company that facilitated money transfers and taxation services, ” he said.
“They usually worked afternoons and early evenings to align with office hours in Europe.” - The Nation/Asia News Network
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