Thai police arrested a Chinese woman in connection to a cryptocurrency investment scam, only to discover that her boyfriend, found at the same residence, is a fugitive wanted in China for alleged kidnapping.
On Wednesday, the Technology Crime Suppression Division of the Thai police announced the arrest of Wu Di, a 27-year-old Chinese national, for her involvement in cryptocurrency frauds that cost victims over 600 million baht (US$17.7 million) in the past two months, Thai media reported.
Wu was captured during a raid at a villa she rented in the tourist hotspot of Pattaya, where authorities also found Zhou Zongyon, a 29-year-old Chinese national wanted for kidnapping.
The investigation began in April 2024, when a Thai teacher reported to the police that she had been scammed out of nearly 1.5 million baht in an investment fraud.
The alleged scammer, who had an appealing profile picture, contacted the victim on Facebook and persuaded her to invest in a so-called Singapore-dollar-denominated investment fund, according to Thai media.
Initially, the victim received a small return and could withdraw some of her money. However, when she decided to invest more, she could not retrieve her funds, leading her to file a police report.
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More Chinese scam workers repatriated via Thailand as crackdown on Myanmar fraud centres continues
More Chinese scam workers repatriated via Thailand as crackdown on Myanmar fraud centres continues