Thai ex-teacher, Chinese national among 5 arrested over romance scam

Gang has allegedly defrauded people of millions of baht

 

A former Thai teacher and her Chinese partner have been arrested in connection with a sophisticated romance scam operation that has allegedly defrauded victims of nearly 100 million baht.  

 

Metropolitan Police, working alongside the Technology Crime Suppression Taskforce (TACTICS) and the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT), raided a luxury property in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan province, on February 19, and arrested five suspects.

 

The investigation began after a victim filed a report at Phra Khanong Police Station. The scammers’ modus operandi involved creating fake online profiles to lure victims into believing they had found a romantic partner.  Once a relationship was established, victims were persuaded to invest in a fictitious Singaporean TikTok shop.

 



 

The elaborate scheme involved victims being asked to complete tasks, initially involving small sums of money, which were duly repaid, building trust. As the “relationship” progressed, victims were encouraged to invest larger amounts, at which point withdrawals became impossible.  

 

The scammers typically blamed delays or technical issues, demanding further payments to “unlock” the funds. The deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Teeradej Thamsutee, traced the complex financial trail, discovering the funds were ultimately laundered through a well-known Thai digital currency exchange.
  

The investigation led officers to Miss Zhou (full name withheld), known as “Boss Zhou”, the alleged mastermind of the operation. She reportedly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in Thailand with her Thai partner, Alisa (full name withheld), a former teacher who had recently resigned from her post to become the “Boss’s Wife”.  Their residence served not only as their home but also as the final stage of the money laundering process, where illicit gains were converted into Bitcoin.

 

Following this discovery, acting Metropolitan Police commissioner Pol Lt-General Sayam Boonsom authorised arrest warrants for both women. The raid on February 19 resulted in the arrest of Miss Zhou and Alisa. Further enquiries revealed the involvement of other accomplices who were out recruiting “mules” to open bank accounts.

 

Pol Maj-General Teeradej’s team tracked down and arrested three more individuals: Sukrit, Atittaya, and Suchet, who were caught facilitating account openings at a hotel near Ramkhamhaeng 2 University.

 



 

A search of the property uncovered 102 active bank accounts, 70 debit cards, approximately 1,000 SIM cards, four mobile phones, and a laptop. The house was identified as the gang’s “nerve centre”, used for managing accounts, recruiting mules, and laundering funds obtained through the scams. Miss Zhou is believed to have been the principal orchestrator.
  

Analysis of the seized accounts has linked them to 132 reported cases of online fraud, with total losses exceeding 91 million baht.

 

During questioning, Miss Zhou partially confessed, claiming that another “boss” based in a neighbouring country oversaw the scam operation, while she managed the financial side in Thailand. 

 

She alleged that this “boss” would transfer funds to her, which she then used to recruit mules, open accounts and digital wallets, and ultimately convert the stolen money into cryptocurrency before transferring it back to the “boss” using the Bitkub exchange platform.

 

Alisa denied all charges, claiming she had only recently left her teaching job at a prominent Bangkok school at Miss Zhou’s urging and was unaware of the criminal activities.

 

Pol Maj-General Teeradej stated that despite the partial confessions, the evidence gathered strongly implicates both Miss Zhou and  Alisa as key figures in the operation.

 

 

He confirmed that the seized items were directly linked to the 132 reported fraud cases, amounting to over 91 million baht in losses. Police inspector-general and director of the Police Cyber Crime Suppression Centre Pol General Thatchai Pitaneelabutr has ordered a full investigation, in line with the directives of Pol General Kittirat Phanphet, Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police.

 

The five individuals arrested are:


Miss Zhou Zhou, 29, Chinese national, charged with conspiracy to defraud, organised crime, and criminal association.
 Alisa Lamkrathok, 31, Thai national, charged with conspiracy to defraud, organised crime, and criminal association.
Sukrit Khattiyot, 26, Thai national, charged with facilitating the purchase, sale, lease, or loan of bank accounts, electronic cards, and mobile phone SIM cards.
 Atittaya Phongsawat, 24, Thai national, charged with facilitating the purchase, sale, lease, or loan of bank accounts, electronic cards, and mobile phone SIM cards.
Suchet Khamkhiao, 40, Thai national, charged with opening bank accounts or allowing others to use them.


 

Items seized:


102 active bank accounts
70 debit cards
Approximately 1,000 active SIM cards
4 mobile phones
1 laptop
1 Toyota Yaris vehicle.

(2025/02/20-00:00)