Pattaya – Immigration police in Pattaya have arrested five Japanese men suspected of operating a call scam that has been defrauding elderly Japanese citizens of approximately 5 million baht per day.
In a recent operation, officers responded to a complaint from the Japanese embassy regarding a scam targeting elderly people in Japan. The gang promised medical expense refunds worth millions of yen but required victims to send at least 500,000 yen (around 111,600 baht) upfront.
Two suspects, Ukai Takayuki and Hatakana Hajime, were arrested at one villa. They are believed to be leaders of the gang. Immigration police seized 42 mobile phones, tablets, scam scripts, and recorded calls between the scammers and victims.
At another villa, police arrested three additional suspects: Kenjiro Kimura, Takahiro Inoue, and Katsuhito Yamaguchi. They were reportedly responsible for contacting potential victims. Along with them, 37 more phones and tablets, victim lists, and scam scripts were seized.
Authorities discovered that one of the gang leaders had ties to the Japanese Yakuza, and the group laundered money through Thai nominees running businesses. The gang’s total daily fraud amounted to about 24 million yen (approximately 5 million baht).
This operation marks a significant blow to the scam network operating from Thailand.