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Online gambling network dismantled in Nakhon Sawan
Five arrested in crackdown on network that had 1 billion baht in circulation, police say
Police inspect computers and other devices seized after raiding a house in Nakhon Sawan’s Muang district that served as an online gambling center. (Photo: Chalit Pumruang)
NAKHON SAWAN: Five men have been arrested in Nakhon Sawan for operating a website for a major online gambling network that had more than 1 billion baht in circulation, police said on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) and local police raided the two-storey house in Tambon Wat Sai, Muang district, acting on the basis of reports that its occupants were linked to gambling website ZDC789, which had an overseas server and multiple operations in Thailand.
Officers arrested five men inside the house and seized eight computers, a laptop, 13 cell phones, three internet routers and two bank account passbooks, with a combined value of 520,000 baht. The gambling operation had around 200 million baht outstanding, according to the arrest team.
Officers learned the house had been rented for 22 months and are now verifying who rented it.
PCT team leader Pol Maj Gen Trairong Phiewphan said the raid in Nakhon Sawan was one of four carried out on gambling operations on Saturday. Two other sites were raided in Phitsanulok and one in Bangkok.
The operation in Nakhon Sawan was found to have taken bets for many types of gambling – baccarat, high-low dice and other card games, Pol Maj Gen Trairong said. It also served as a place to withdraw and deposit money and offered consulting services to players.
According to Pol Maj Gen Trairong, the ring was responsible for a large online gambling network with over 500,000 customers and one billion baht in circulation. The investigation is now being extended to trace the money trail and arrest others involved, he said.