Thai authorities have arrested 13 foreign nationals accused of running a call-centre scam from a luxury home in Samut Prakan that defrauded Australians of approximately 40 million baht through fake bond investments.
The suspects — five Australians, six Britons, one Canadian, and one South African — were apprehended on Monday morning and presented at a press conference at the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Tuesday.
CIB Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirapop Phuridej said the arrests took place at 8:30 a.m. at a rented residence in Tambon Bang Pli Yai, Bang Pli district.
The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) under a joint investigation codenamed Operation Firestorm.
Kristie-Lee Cressy, a senior AFP officer, joined the press briefing and said the scam had caused significant financial harm to thousands of Australians, particularly over the past four years.
During the raid, police seized 58 pieces of evidence, including desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones, and prepared scripts used to deceive victims.
Investigators said the group operated as a boiler room — a term used for high-pressure sales operations — and lured victims with promises of annual returns of 7 to 10 percent through fraudulent bond investments.
All suspects entered Thailand on tourist visas and were not authorised to work. They have been charged with unlawful association and working without permission.
The scam network is believed to have been active for nearly 20 years, previously operating in other countries before relocating to Thailand early last year. It had previously been dismantled in Indonesia but later resumed operations in Thailand.
The group reportedly lived in Pattaya before moving to Bangkok, where they held a planning meeting at a hotel in the Dok Mai subdistrict of Prawet district. They then relocated to a rented house in Samut Prakan, paying approximately 120,000 baht per month.
Police had been monitoring the property for several days. Officers observed that vehicles arrived around 5 a.m. and departed around 5:30 p.m., closely aligning with office hours in Australia.
When officers raided the property at 8:30 a.m., they found the suspects working inside a living room that had been converted into makeshift office cubicles.
The individuals reportedly received a salary of 3,000 Australian dollars per month, along with a 2.5 percent commission on the money they convinced victims to invest.
Two men, Mark Dennis, 54, an Australian, and Mark Andrew Howship, 56, a Briton, were identified as the operation’s ringleaders. Both were among those arrested.
Pol Col Plern Klinpayom, deputy commander of Immigration Police Division 3, confirmed that while none of the suspects had overstayed their visas, all would have their visas revoked and be blacklisted as persona non grata.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and they are working with international partners to trace the network’s financial trail and identify additional victims.
