Police bust int’l ring selling fake accounts to online criminals
Fifteen arrested, hundreds of thousands of SIM cards seized in Operation ‘CIB Crushes the Grey Dragon’
An international ring selling fake social media accounts to online criminals has been busted after raids across Chiang Mai, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced on Wednesday.
Fifteen suspects were arrested during coordinated raids at 21 locations on Tuesday in an operation dubbed “CIB Crushes the Grey Dragon”, CIB commander Jiraphop Phuridet announced at a press conference. They included a Thai woman, Jiraphan Prakobkit, 30, who is married to a Chinese man believed to be the gang’s leader.
The married couple and the other suspects – one Thai man, four Chinese nationals, and eight Myanmar nationals – have been charged with "collaboratively manufacturing, using, importing, exporting, or trading telecommunication devices without authorisation”.
During the raids, CIB officers seized 590,000 SIM cards, 350,000 from Thailand, 150,000 from Hong Kong, and others from various countries. They also confiscated 642 GSM gateways or SIM boxes and other equipment. Two suspects remain at large, and further searches are underway, Jiraphop said.
Investigators say the gang had been active for two years, with Jiraporn responsible for procuring locations and installing SIM box equipment in Chiang Mai.
The SIM boxes were allegedly used to generate one-time passwords (OTPs) to create fraudulent social media accounts and online identities. The gang sold the OTPs for 1 yuan (about 5 baht) apiece to criminal networks and scam centres, according to the CIB.
The suspects modified devices to bypass security algorithms on social media platforms, making the accounts appear legitimate. This elevated their value, allowing the perpetrators to sell them at significantly higher prices, police said.
