On the 23rd, Surapong, head of the Thai Technology Crime Suppression Division, revealed that a 19-year-old boy nicknamed "Little Nick" was brainwashed around the clock by a transnational crime syndicate made up of Chinese and Thai members. The syndicate manipulated him into breaking open his mother's safe and handing over nearly 10 million baht (approximately 1.28 million ringgit) in cash and valuables. After an investigation, a Chinese national who took the victim's property left at a roadside in Nonthaburi Province was arrested and is currently under interrogation.
He stated that police have confirmed the main members of the gang are Chinese and Thai, with clear division of roles. All efforts are being made to track down the remaining members and recover the stolen assets.
He said the case occurred at noon on November 19, when the criminal group called the victim's mobile phone, intimidating him with claims such as "involved in money laundering" and "an arrest warrant has been issued." They lured the victim into adding them on Line, then sent forged "Anti-Money Laundering Office documents," "court arrest warrants," and "Cyber Police notifications" via Line, forcing the victim to believe he "must cooperate with the investigation, or the whole family would be arrested." Since the victim was only 19 years old, introverted, and worried his mother might be implicated, he gradually fell into the criminals' trap.
He said that in the afternoon, the criminals asked the victim to take leave from school and check into a hotel room alone for "24-hour video surveillance." Afterward, they induced him to return home and, under real-time instructions over a video call, break open the family safe before his mother returned from work, count and carry away all the valuables, and deliver them to a designated location in Bang Phlap, Nonthaburi. That evening, the criminals continued to "reassure" the victim: "You did the right thing, don’t tell anyone." The next morning (20th), the criminals again tricked the victim, claiming the property was "insufficient to prove innocence" and induced him to use his mother’s phone for a bank transfer of 4