Chiang Mai Police Bust Korean Gang in Tourist Supplement Scam
Chiang Mai Tourist Police dismantled a South Korean-led operation selling unregistered supplements to tourists at inflated prices with false medical claims. Officers raided two locations in San Kamphaeng District, arresting three suspects including a South Korean man posing as a salesperson and two Myanmar women. Dozens of products lacking proper FDA registration were seized for investigation.
Chiang Mai Tourist Police executed search warrants at two supplement retailers in Chiang Mai on November 8, 2026, after tourists reported being deceived by tour operators into purchasing supplements costing up to 40,000 baht per box. The vendors made inflated claims about disease-curing properties and impersonated traditional medicine practitioners. The first raid targeted Jin Kwang Gemology Co. Ltd. in Moo 2, Ton Pao Subdistrict, San Kamphaeng District, where officers discovered four supplement products, two of which were unregistered controlled drugs or food items. These were confiscated for laboratory analysis. During the operation, police apprehended Mr. Oh Ki Sung, a 61-year-old South Korean national, actively selling products to South Korean tourists inside a VIP room. He lacked a work permit and confessed to falsely representing himself as a salesperson while touting the products as cures for various ailments. Two Myanmar nationals, identified only as Ms. Mo, 27, and Ms. Waranya, 26, were also detained. All three suspects were handed over to San Kamphaeng Police Station for legal proceedings. The second location, Bio-Korea Trading Co. Ltd. in Ton Pao, San Kamphaeng, operated as a legitimate food factory but was found covertly selling products not manufactured on-site. FDA officials examined eight products: four held valid registration, one bore incorrect registration labeling, and three had no registration at all. These items were likewise seized for further investigation.
