Police from Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CIBB) have arrested 32 suspects, alleged to be linked to the “Macau 888” online gambling and money laundering operations, in multiple raids on Sunday.
Separately, police searched a warehouse in a Bangkok suburb and found one supercar, a Lamborghini Mad Bull Liberty Walk Aventador V2, the only one in Thailand out of a total of 50 worldwide.
The limited edition vehicle, worth as much as 44 million baht, plus three million baht in accessories, was impounded by the police. The car is believed to belong to 37-year-old Chaiwat Kajornboonthavorn, aka “Benz Demon”.
CCIB Commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha said that more raids will be conducted because there are over 40 locations believed to have been used for illegal activities.
He said that the 32 suspects detained worked in various capacities, some were page administrators, others handled financial affairs or were responsible for bank accounts opened by individuals in return for rewards from the scamming gang.
On Saturday night, CCIB police searched a Bangkok pub, known to be a favourite hangout of a key suspect in the case, identified as “Benz Demon”, to look for evidence.
The police also searched a room in a luxurious condominium in the Sukhumvit area, reportedly owned by “Benz Demon”, after it was reported that some property had been moved out of the room by a contractor on the night of February 2nd.
According to the police, Benz and his younger brother, identified only as “Bright”, left Thailand, reportedly for Hong Kong, on January 16th. Only Bright, who is a police officer based at Suvarnabhumi airport, returned to Thailand on February 1st and was detained at the airport’s police station for seven days for travelling abroad without authorisation.
