Boost in operations at fraudulent establishment termed as 'operation center'

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) have announced a joint operation with Japan and India to dismantle call centre syndicates based in Cambodia. This operation is part of a three-month crackdown plan announced by Thailand in early August.

The IAC War Room, based at the RTP headquarters, is at the centre of this timeline. The War Room was established in late July, during a meeting attended by Bangladesh, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The goal of this operation is to streamline investigations, freeze illicit funds, and track phone numbers and financial accounts used by scammers. The unified system being developed will accelerate investigations in areas of financial analysis and IP address analysis.

Since the establishment of the IAC War Room, arrests of mule bosses and mule account holders, and freezes imposed on their finances, have increased by about 40%. This is a significant step towards dismantling these criminal networks.

The operation is currently being coordinated with 10 countries and several international organisations, including Interpol. China and Vietnam are likely to join the operation in the near future.

The announcement was made under the banner of the RTP's International Anti-Scam and Human Trafficking Syndicate Command Centre (IAC). A trip to Poipet, a Cambodian city opposite Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province, is planned. Poipet is notorious for being the base of scammers. Countries taking part in the crackdown are expected to join the trip.

The police can request registration information for service providers and service recipients and suspend use of telephone numbers or internet signal points. This will help in tracking down the scammers and disrupting their operations.

It's important to note that the sooner a victim reports to the police, the better the chance to get the money back. After an initial drop in scam activity targeting Thai victims in early August, criminals are now getting back to work in earnest.

This international cooperation aims to combat cross-border call centre gangs using Thailand as a base or transit point. The countries involved in the future joint operation of the Royal Thai Police against these syndicates will include the United States, Japan, and India, working together with Thailand on intelligence exchange, technological support, and joint investigations.

Japan and India were the first countries to begin coordinating with Thailand in this operation. The operation with these two countries marks the beginning of a broader international effort to combat transnational crime.