More than 30 people have filed complaints with Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police against a job broker who claimed he could help them find work overseas but allegedly defrauded them instead.
They lodged their complaints late on Monday night after learning they had been duped by Nathee Harwards Bodyham, who is half-Thai, half-Australian.
He told them to go to Suvarnabhumi airport on Monday at 7pm to travel to Australia to find work. However, Mr Nathee did not show up, police said.
Police said the victims could not find Mr Nathee by their scheduled departure time.
They sought help from police officers stationed at Suvarnabhumi airport who took them to lodge their complaints at CSD headquarters.
Thanida Sitthilerk, 35, who was looking for work abroad, said she was invited by a friend to meet Mr Nathee in November last year after he promised to help her find work picking grapes in Australia on a salary of 50,000 baht a month.
Mr Nathee asked her to pay 120,000 baht for the documents needed for employment and overseas travel expenses. She transferred the money into a bank account belonging to Patchareeya Boontaweesawas, Ms Thanida said. She said she had been waiting for seven months to travel to Australia but Mr Nathee said there was a problem with her documentation.
Pol Col Akkaradej Pimonsri, acting chief of the CSD, said he asked authorities at the Labour Ministry to cooperate with investigators in questioning the victims.
Wirat Srisumphan, from the Inspection and Job-Seekers Protection Division, said Mr Nathee appears to have committed fraud and violated the law related to job seekers.
Last month, a group of workers was allegedly lured by the promise of work abroad and petitioned the Labour Ministry against a job broker, Mr Wirat said. Officials are investigating whether the two cases are linked, he added.