SISAKET, THAILAND — Police in northeastern Thailand uncovered what investigators called a fully equipped command center for online gambling, arresting 14 suspects on 5 November during coordinated raids that exposed 90 bank accounts tied to a monthly money flow of 90 million baht.
Immigration Alert Triggers Raids
According to Colonel Prasert Naree of the Sisaket Provincial Police, the operation began after the local Immigration Office reported a group of Taiwanese nationals showing “unusual movement” within a housing estate in Mueang Sisaket District. On 5 November, officers stopped two speeding motorcycles whose riders behaved suspiciously; one attempted to flee but was captured 200 meters from the checkpoint.
Inside the vehicles, police found several smartphones preloaded with betting applications. Lieutenant Colonel Anucha Pringchai, who led the checkpoint team, confirmed that the data retrieved from the devices traced directly to two rented houses inside the Dow Phra Subdistrict community.
Command Center With 110 Active Phones
When police stormed the houses that same afternoon, Major General Chalong Surapong, head of the Cyber Crime Division, reported finding three Taiwanese men and eleven Thai nationals operating 110 mobile phones simultaneously. Each phone was linked to one or more of 90 different bank accounts used to process online bets nationwide.
Investigators said the suspected ringleader, a Thai man known as “Min,” aged 34, had leased both houses for 7,000 baht per month each. He allegedly recruited ten workers, instructing them to open multiple bank accounts and handle player transactions. Officers seized 110 phones, 90 bank books, and computers used for client registration during the raid.
Drugs and Weapons Confiscated
The search teams also discovered a homemade firearm and 0.49 grams of ketamine hidden inside a drawer. Police Captain Somchai Rattanakorn, forensic officer at the scene, confirmed that ten of the fourteen suspects tested positive for narcotics. He stated that approximately two million baht remained in the seized accounts at the time of the operation.
“THESE DEVICES SHOWED CONSTANT ACTIVITY DAY AND NIGHT,” said Colonel Prasert Naree, adding that logs proved money was cycling through the accounts every few minutes.
Legal Action and Financial Tracking
The police split the detainees into two groups. Three Taiwanese suspects and the Thai organizer Min faced charges of operating and supplying bank accounts for cybercrime. The remaining ten Thai workers were charged with knowingly providing their personal bank accounts and phone lines for the same network. All Thai suspects also faced additional charges for drug use, illegal possession of weapons, and carrying firearms in public.
Colonel Prasert confirmed that investigators have collaborated with the Anti-Money Laundering Office to trace financial links possibly connected to overseas gambling servers. “WE WILL SEIZE EVERY ASSET GENERATED FROM THESE ACTIVITIES,” he said, emphasizing that the suspects had been running the operation for around three months after relocating from a conflict-affected border area.
Scale of Operation Under Investigation
Police records showed deposits and withdrawals totaling 90 million baht per month, equivalent to about 2.25 million euros, making it one of the largest single online betting busts reported in 2024. The suspects have been transferred to the Sisaket Provincial Court as officers continue analyzing transaction data from the 90 accounts to identify additional players or financial backers operating in Thailand and Taiwan.
“WE BELIEVE THIS IS JUST ONE NODE OF A MUCH LARGER NETWORK,” Major General Chalong stated during a press briefing on 9 November, warning residents that similar small cell hubs could still be active across northeastern provinces.