Phuket Luxury Villa Raid: Chinese Woman Arrested Over Call Center Scams
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On October 29, acting on a national police directive to crack down on illegal foreigners, Immigration Division 6 officers raided two locations in Phuket's Rawai district. They arrested Ms. Lin, a Chinese national, on a Phuket Provincial Court warrant charging her with illegally operating a business on behalf of foreigners without permission and using a Thai nominee to hold shares.
The investigation began after a complaint alleged Chinese nationals were working illegally and using Thai citizens as front shareholders. Police found Ms. Lin held shares and directorships in two companies, both sharing the same Thai woman as a nominal shareholder. That woman confessed she was merely a nominee while Ms. Lin solely invested in and controlled both businesses.
During the search, officers seized a luxury villa valued at over 50 million baht. Financial checks revealed Ms. Lin's bank accounts had been suspended because they were linked to "mule accounts" in nine call center fraud and online scam cases across multiple provinces, including Kanthararom, Tha Uthen, Borabue, Kaeng Krachan, Mueang Nakhon Pathom, Mueang Roi Et, Kohong, Bang Kaeo, and Sadao. Investigators also traced more than 100 million baht circulating through her other bank accounts in schemes involving investment fraud, fake job offers, and stock trading scams.
