The Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has confiscated two luxurious villas from operators of UFA, an illegal online gambling network for high rollers. As reported by The Thaiger, a Thai news outlet, the two properties are worth over 2 billion baht in total (roughly $56.5 million).

For reference, the villas are located in Phuket’s coastal area, overlooking Nai Harn Bay. Their combined area is around 3.75 acres. Both properties were called Thousand Hills Phuket.

The confiscation of the two properties was led by Director General Police Major Suriya Singhakamol. When the DSI officers arrived, the only people at the villas were housekeepers and ground staff. Suriya’s people notified the staff of the seizure and proceeded to place notices around the two properties.

According to the DSI, the two villas are owned by a syndicate that has connections to UFA, the aforementioned illegal gambling network. While all forms of online gambling are strictly prohibited in the country, illegal operators have been filling the niche.

Suriya learned that the properties are learned to a man who was identified as Phakphum, also known as Didi. He was arrested earlier this month and is believed to have been a revenue manager for the UFA network.

At first, Phakphum denied having been involved in the operation of UFA. However, he eventually admitted to his ties to the gambling operation and, as a result, was charged with violations of Thailand’s AML Act.

In addition to serving as the revenue manager of UFA, Phakphum was also related to the operation of factories that operated “mule accounts.” Phakpfum’s facilities were predominantly operated by migrants who used over 80 mule accounts for gambling websites.

According to The Thaiger’s report, 30 of these accounts were registered under the names of Thai players. Each of these accounts handled billions of baht in turnover and processed 3% of the income from the 83 gambling sites Phakphum managed.

The Crackdown Continues

The UFA network is believed to encompass dozens of websites. Its founder, Phuchit, is yet to be arrested as of the time of this writing. Suriya and the DSI are actively pursuing the mastermind, his sister, Phonpansa, as well as 13 other people with ties to UFA and its operations.

Suriya asked people connected to the illegal gambling operation to surrender themselves, lest they risk additional money laundering charges. The major believes that the seizure of the two villas is an important first step in the crackdown on UFA.

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The latest operation to take place in the country was located in Phuket where 15 people were apprehended after authorities descended on an abandoned shopping center and discovered the suspects participating in illegal gambling operations in the basement of the venue.

Police Continue to Attack Illegal Gambling

Based on the reports by local media outlets, including Thaiger, police received anonymous tips about the operation of a snooker hall that accepted wagers at the address. Police then proceeded to raid the venue and managed to seize playing cards, cash, CCTV camera, computer tech, and other incriminating evidence.

The person who was running the illegal gambling event will now be charged with the more serious crime of hosting unlawful gambling whereas the other 14 suspects will only be charged with participating in the activity at an unlicensed venue.

Efforts to curb illegal gambling have been picking up in Thailand as the country is looking to significantly limit the reach of illegal gambling in the land-based and online sectors. This comes at a time when Thailand is also considering the possibility of hosting casino resorts, similar to the ones that have been already approved and are on track to be built in Japan.

Thailand is presently looking into a report that assessed the feasibility of such projects in the country. According to initial assessments, the country could host up to five such locations. These locations would then feature casinos that could not take more than 5% of the total floor space of the projects.

Casino Resorts on the Mind of Thai Lawmakers

The proposed integrated resorts will feature a range of amenities and tourist attractions, from five-star hotels to spa parlors, to amusement parks, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, business, and meeting spaces, along with zoos, and other amenities that could lead to an increase in business and leisurely tourism.

Thailand has been acting against illegal gambling no matter who the organizers may be. Recently, a high-profile Indian gambling investor was one of the 83 people arrested at a Pattaya hotel. The investor, one Chikoti Praveen Kumar, allegedly was running a casino out of his room at the hotel and has been linked to around $12 million of illegally placed wagers.

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The police in Thailand have arrested a man who not only pretended to be a cop but also scammed people across the central Thai countryside. Then, Thaiger reported, the fraud would gamble the dirty money away in casinos in Cambodia.

The man presented himself as Pol. Col. Wuttisak Phittakchan-im, 58, claiming to be a police lieutenant. He would go from village to village, armed with an unlikely weapon – photos of cows. The man would claim that he owns the animals in the photos and is looking to sell them for a fair price.

When Wuttisak arrived in a village in the Chang Lek subdistrict, he told village chief Pairat Unha that he sells cows and buffaloes for 250,000 baht (around $7,200). The fraudster went a step further, promising a discount of 1,000 baht for each animal if Pairat bought all of them.

Luckily, Pairat had seen some of the photos in an online chat room for cattle traders and immediately suspected that Wuttisak was lying. The village chief called the police, which quickly arrived at the scene.

The officers were dressed in plain clothes so that Wuttisak wouldn’t suspect them and escape. They spoke with the man and asked him to present his police ID. Instead of providing one, the con artist tried to make an escape. Luckily, he was successfully arrested and detained.

The Uniform Gave the Fraudster Credibility

Although the man had lied about being a policeman, his name was indeed Wuttisak Phittakchan-im, the police understood. They searched his car and found a bunch of police equipment and several fake registration plates.

Unfortunately, chief Pairat was not the first person Wuttisak had tried to scam. Even worse, his previous attempts at scamming people had been more successful.

Amnat Ayupool, a 26-year-old man from the Lop Buri province, told the police that he had given 330,000 baht (around $9,555) to buy a herd of cattle that never arrived. Amnat told officers that the fake uniform made Wuttisak seem trustworthy and reliable.

As it turns out, this is exactly the reason why Wuttisak wore the uniform in the first place. When the police interrogated the con artist, he admitted that it gave him a sense of credibility that made scamming people easier.

Wuttisak also admitted that he used the money he took by deception to gamble in Poipet, Cambodia. He would gamble away all of his money, at which point he would return to central Thailand to scam more people.

Deputy Commander of Pra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Police, Pol. Col. Teerawut Saengmanee believes that there are many more victims of this scam that the police are yet to hear about.

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The Royal Thai Police has been accused by a crime-fighting activist of running 70 percent of internet gambling businesses operating in Thailand.

The activist, Achariya Ruangrattanapong showed up at the police headquarters on Monday and publicly accused corrupt police officers of running illegal gambling that are rampant in Thailand.

Achariya displayed a banner to the media where he wrote names of the suspected corrupt police officers. He exposed only 16 officers out of the 100 he plans to reveal, promising to reveal the rest later.

Achariya was privy to the inner workings of the organizations and claims it is being run by a former head of police who delegates most of the works to police lieutenants-general.

The accusation comes in the wake of claims from another activist, Chuvit Kamolvisit, that senior police officers were involved in clandestine gambling operations.

These allegations are yet to be followed up by the authorities.

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