CREDIT CARD GANG CAUGHT
A serious crime has been uncovered by the local police. Millions of baht in cash and products has been scammed using Chinese credit cards by a gang of at least five people from China and Myanmar. At a joint press conference of Pattaya Police, Chonburi Immigration, Pattaya Tourist Police and Crime Suppression Division, the five people were presented to the press, together with evidence of this case, 40,000 baht in cash, and 121 Debit Union Pay Cards of the Bank of China, plus 19 SIM cards and mobile phones. The police explained that they had received information that a foreign woman had been using a Chinese credit card to buy goods from Central Festival Pattaya Beach Shopping Mall, and that the staff at the shop found it suspicious that she came to the shop to purchase goods many times using different credit cards and signing the credit card slips using different names. Looking at CCTV footage the police discovered how some of the gang members looked like, and when they received report that two of the foreigners again came to buy goods, they followed them to their residence in central Pattaya. They approached the suspect and asked to search her handbag and found many credit cards. Further investigation uncovered that 5 more rooms were occupied by people from Myanmar and 3 rooms were occupied by people from China. When the police searched the rooms they found many more credit cards. The suspects said that they got the credit cards from other people to withdraw cash from ATM machines and to use them to buy goods. They would make 15% of the cash on the goods and send the rest to China. Millions of baht in cash and goods has been scammed by the gang.