A Thai woman and her Malaysian husband have been arrested in Nonthaburi for laundering money for online gambling websites.
Pol Lt Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, deputy police commissioner, and Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewphan, acting chief of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), led the operation on Monday against the money laundering networks of online gambling gangs.
The team raided five locations in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Ayutthaya, and Nonthaburi.
They arrested Ms Pattama and Kia Lim Hao at a company in Nonthaburi's Muang district. Police also confiscated 4 million baht in cash, a gold bracelet weighing 45.6 grammes, two wristwatches worth 2.6 million baht, 16 luxury bags, a car, and a bank book. The total value of the assets was about 13 million baht.
Ms Pattama said she had lived with Mr Hao for three years. They opened a company with two million baht in registered capital to run various businesses, including a liquor store and shrimp fishing.
Pol Lt Gen Thatchai said the pair opened a legitimate company, but they were hired to launder money for an online gambling network. They used the money to open various fronts, such as pubs in Ekkamai and Ayutthaya and a seafood restaurant in Lat Phrao, totalling more than 10 companies in Bangkok and its environs.
Some of the companies were not in operation.
Police will broaden the probe to track down more than 20 other suspects.
