Police officers from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) have arrested two suspects linked to a fraudulent scheme that lured victims with promises of high-paying agricultural jobs in New Zealand and Australia.
The scheme allegedly left more than 100 people in debt and caused losses exceeding 20 million baht.
Pol Maj Gen Wittaya Sriprasertphap, commander of the ATPD, ordered a team led by officers from Division 3 to apprehend two 23-year-old suspects, identified as Thanakarn and Tharathap, under Criminal Court warrants.
The suspects face multiple charges, including public fraud, deception over overseas employment opportunities, unlawful job advertisement and entering false information into a computer system in a manner likely to cause public damage.
They were arrested in a rented room in Mae Sot district, Tak province.
Investigators said the suspects were part of a group that operated a Facebook page titled "Overseas Jobs", advertising agricultural work opportunities in New Zealand and Australia with monthly salaries of 90,000–100,000 baht and free accommodation. Applicants were required to apply in person at a company office in Nonthaburi.
The victims were instructed to pay various fees, including 80,000 baht for contracts, 40,000 baht for life insurance, 9,750 baht for visa processing, and 33,000 baht for currency exchange -- totalling 162,750 baht per person. Some victims reportedly pawned cars, sold farmland or took out loans to afford the fees.
After the payments were made, the victims were told to attend a training session in Bangkok or a nearby province on April 25. However, on the scheduled date, the suspects could not be contacted, prompting the victims to realise they had been scammed.
More than 100 victims, both Thai and foreign nationals, filed complaints with investigators.
