A Japanese man, suspected of leading call-center scam operations in Cambodia and Vietnam, was arrested in connection with various crimes in Japan after police raided his rented home in Bangkok.
Known only as Yamakushi, he faced multiple arrest warrants in Japan on charges including physical assault, fraud, theft, and breaches of organized crime laws, according to Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, a Royal Thai Police inspector-general.
On March 13, at the urging of Japanese authorities, the Immigration Bureau (IB) canceled Mr. Yamakushi’s visa and began efforts to track him down. IB officers eventually located him walking near the residential area where he resided.
They notified him that his visa had been revoked and subsequently escorted him to the bureau’s Immigration Division 3 for an interview, as Pol Gen Thatchai stated during a press conference on Thursday.
Naoto Watanabe, a police attaché from the Japanese embassy in Thailand, was also present.
The investigation revealed that Mr. Yamakushi had previously led a yakuza gang in Japan and operated call-center scam gangs in Cambodia and Vietnam, targeting Japanese nationals.
His travel records indicated that he made frequent trips to Thailand, where he rented a house in the Sathon district of Bangkok for 180,000 baht per month.
Further inquiries revealed that last year, the suspect had established Last Samurai Japan Co., a company involved in the high-priced buying and selling of artwork. This led the police to suspect that it might have been a front for laundering money.
During a search of the rented home, police discovered four other Japanese nationals, each with a criminal history in Japan.
The police are investigating a possible connection between these individuals and Last Samurai Japan Co., noting that they held digital assets worth over 30 million baht. The investigation is still ongoing, according to Pol Gen Thatchai.
