Police and officials from Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) have shut down six illegal cellular sites in the northern provinces of Tak and Chiang Rai and dismantled their antennae, in an attempt to prevent call centre gangs in Myanmar from using the internet and mobile phone signals to prey on victims in Thailand.
Two of the illegal sites were located in Mae Sot district of Tak province and four others in Mae Sai and Chiang Khong districts of Chiang Rai province, according to Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, a member of the NBTC in charge of legal affairs.
Three people have been arrested and charged with operating a radio station without permission, an offence which is subject to a maximum imprisonment of five years and/or a 100,000 baht fine on conviction.
He said that a number of mobile phone service operators in Mae Sot district had been asked to realign their antennae away from Myanmar, to prevent their phone signals from being used by call centre gangs operating with impunity.
Besides preventing phone and internet signals from extending into Myanmar, he said that officials have also cracked down on the sale of SIM cards suspected to have been bought by scammers.
Over 7,600 such cards have been seized and 20 people, including foreigners, have been apprehended since the beginning of this year on suspicion that the cards would be used in illegal activities.
