Thai police have arrested a 50-year-old woman, Laksamee, involved in a call center scam and money laundering scheme after her return from a foreign prison. She was apprehended in Bangkok outside a massage parlour.
Laksamee’s arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by the Criminal Court on June 11, 2018, citing charges such as attempted fraud, participation in a criminal organization, and involvement in transnational crime.
The case began when a 64-year-old victim reported receiving a call from someone impersonating a police officer, claiming the victim was implicated in drug and money laundering cases. The caller convinced the victim to transfer 120,000 baht to avoid having their bank account frozen. Believing the deception, the victim complied and later filed a complaint with the police.
During the investigation, Laksamee confessed to her role in the scam. She explained that in 2018, while working at a massage parlour in Bangkok, a colleague persuaded her to work in Malaysia. There, she was employed by a call center gang, earning 500 baht a day.
Under the direction of a Taiwanese gang leader, she and eight others posed as Thai postal workers, using scripted lines to deceive victims before transferring calls to a male colleague impersonating a police officer.
Laksamee reported that her phone and bank app were confiscated by the scam gang. The operation persisted until a raid by Malaysian and Thai authorities on their hideout near the Thai border. Laksamee suspects two of her colleagues, who were not arrested, acted as informants during the raid.
Expressing regret for her imprisonment in Malaysia and subsequent three years and three months in Thailand, Laksamee returned to her hometown in Khon Kaen for two years before moving to Prawet for work. Despite her efforts to start anew, she was arrested again for her past crimes.
Laksamee denied involvement in the specific 120,000 baht transfer, attributing the action to the gang leader’s control over her phone. She expressed deep remorse and urged others not to follow her path, according to KhaoSod.