Cybercrime Police Arrest Two Suspects Operating Fake Gold Trading Scheme That Defrauded Victims of 2.6 Million Baht

On May 20, 2026, Pol. Lt. Gen. Surpol Prembut, commander of the Cyber Crime Police Division, authorized officers including Pol. Col. Komkrit Sukhthai, head of Cyber Crime Police Bureau 3, to arrest Nanthanop Yeephinyoh, 23, from Chiang Rai, and Patrapimol Wangseng, 24, also from Chiang Rai, based on arrest warrants from Surin Provincial Court numbers 235/2569 and 236/2569 respectively.

The investigation began after a government official reported being defrauded. A scammer contacted him through TikTok and lured him into investing in digital gold trading through the ZFX platform, claiming it was a legitimate business registered with Thailand's SEC and operated by a UK-based parent company. The scammer provided false evidence of profits and convinced the victim to transfer funds through multiple bank loans across 15 transactions totaling 2,696,473 baht. When the victim later inquired about his profits, he was given various excuses until he could no longer reach the scammers and realized he had been defrauded.

After reporting the case to cybercrime police, investigators determined that Nanthanop and Patrapimol operated as part of a call center gang, opening money mule accounts to receive fraudulent transfers from victims. Police gathered evidence and obtained court arrest warrants. Both suspects were apprehended in Chiang Rai and initially confessed. They are now facing charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit computer crimes involving falsified or forged data, and related computer fraud offenses.