Pattaya: Pattaya police raided and rescued victims of a money mule scam who were locked up in a hotel. Pattaya City Police officers rescued a 20-year-old woman who had been kidnapped by a Chinese money mule gang at a luxury hotel in the Jomtien area. Police had to have the hotel's security guard knock for a while before they could open the door. Upon entering, they found a Chinese man, one of the gang members, and took him to the police station for further questioning.
According to Thai News Agency, this follows a report from Mr. Bird, who filed a complaint at 6 a.m. this morning, along with chat evidence, stating that his younger sister, Ms. Pimnipa, 20, had requested help after being kidnapped by a Chinese gang and held captive in a hotel near Jomtien. He also provided the hotel's location. Police then investigated and searched until they found the victim's room and successfully rescued her.
Ms. Pimnipa tearfully recounted the incident, saying that before the incident, she had been browsing Facebook and saw an advertisement for "mule account opening." Desperate for money, she decided to contact the agency to inquire, as she needed money to pay for her room. Last night, someone picked her up at the entrance to Walking Street in South Pattaya and then drove her around Pattaya and Sriracha in a car.
Then, a group of 6-7 Chinese people seized all of their mobile phones and ATM cards before taking them to withdraw money without letting them touch any of their belongings. Later, the Chinese group accused them of having more than 200,000 baht missing from their account before threatening them with various threats, including harm and even death, if they didn't admit their guilt. They then took them to be imprisoned in a hotel, blindfolded so they couldn't see them. When they regained their composure, they tricked them into asking for their phones back so they could contact a friend to help them open an additional account for the Chinese group.
Initially, police brought the Chinese man who was guarding the victim to Pattaya City Police Station for questioning, but he refused to give any statement. Police are therefore detaining him for further questioning and are preparing to expand the investigation to track down other accomplices and bring them to justice.