Alleged Chinese online scam boss She Zhijiang, who is accused of operating more than 200 online gambling websites and networks in Southeast Asia, particularly in Myanmar’s Shwe Kokko scam city, was extradited to China on Wednesday.
His extradition came after he lost a lengthy legal battle through the Criminal and Constitutional courts to stall the deportation. On Monday, Thailand’s Appeals Court upheld the lower court’s decision to extradite him to face charges in China.
Pol Lt-Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, the assistant national police chief, said that She Zhijiang had committed offences that justified his extradition in, accordance with the Extradition Act B.E. 2551 (2008), adding that the legal procedure did not contravene human rights principles.
Acting on the Interpol Red Notice for his arrest, Thai police apprehended the suspect in Thailand in August 2022. He had been detained in Klong Prem prison, pending extradition trial.
The Chinese police have accused She Zhijiang, founder of Yatai International Holdings Group, of operating more than 200 online gambling websites and networks, targeting mostly Chinese victims in China.
Jirabhop said that, during the detention in Thailand, She Zhijiang had denied all the charges against him and refused to provide a statement to the police, but had formed a legal team to fight his extradition, including taking the case to the Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Criminal Court’s extradition ruling.
She Zhijiang was accompanied by Thai police to Suvarnabhumi international airport yesterday, to be handed over to Chinese security officials who escorted him back to China to stand trial.
Zhao Mingtao, counsellor for political affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, thanked the Thai government for the arrest and extradition and he pledged China’s full cooperation with Thailand in the suppression of transnational cybercrime in the region.
