BANGKOK– Thailand’s Immigration police have arrested six foreign nationals in four separate cases tied to financial fraud, human trafficking, and drug offences, according to Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau.
The first case involved a 41-year-old Chinese man, identified as Pan, who is wanted in China for allegedly cheating financial institutions out of 560 million yuan (about 2.8 billion baht). Investigators said he gave false information about his businesses to secure loans, then used the money to generate illegal profits of more than 80 million yuan.
According to the Immigration Bureau, he entered Thailand on a tourist visa in May last year and overstayed. Immigration Officers later found him at a salon in Chon Buri.
The second case focused on three Chinese nationals, Yang, 31, Zhang, 21, and Zhang’s girlfriend Cheng, 20. They are accused of trafficking more than 120 Chinese citizens to scam call centres in Myanmar and Cambodia.
Victims were reportedly promised fake job offers, then sent to work in these scam operations. The trio stayed in separate condominiums in the Sukhumvit and Lat Phrao areas.
In the third case, Taiwanese citizen Chen, 37, was arrested after he reported to immigration police officers as part of a study visa application. He is wanted for allegedly smuggling more than 54 kilograms of cannabis hidden in a container shipped from Canada.
Authorities said he fled Taiwan before a warrant was issued.
The fourth arrest involved Simone, a 26-year-old Italian man accused of sending heroin, cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, and LSD through international postal parcels. He arrived in Thailand in October and was later detained at a condominium in the Ekkamai area.
Americans injured in Bangkok Building Fire.
In a separate incident, two American men suffered minor injuries after a fierce fire gutted an office in a six-storey commercial building on Sukhumvit Soi 8 in Bangkok’s Klong Toey district.
The building at 39 Sukhumvit Soi 8 contains rental offices, living quarters, and a restaurant. The fire broke out at about 11.25 am on Monday in office space on the ground floor.
Flames destroyed office furniture, including tables, chairs, and a fan, and burned wall panels and ceiling tiles in an area of about 25 square metres. Firefighters arrived quickly and put out the blaze with water, stopping it from spreading to the upper floors where tenants live.
Investigators said an electrical short circuit at a wall-mounted switch panel inside the office was the likely cause.
The two injured Americans received only minor wounds. A 63-year-old man sprained his left ankle and turned down hospital treatment after receiving first aid at the scene. The second man, aged 26, injured his right foot and was taken to Vimut Theptarin Hospital. No other injuries were reported, and residents were safely evacuated.
