Car-wash shop in Bangkok raided amid crackdown into illegal football broadcast
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raided a car-wash shop in Bangkok’s Khlong Sam Wa district on Wednesday, which was among 21 areas nationwide that a mule account network used to broadcast overseas football matches illegally.
According to the DSI, the network has over 100 mule accounts and over 1.2 billion baht in circulating funds.
The department officials suspect that the network is involved in online gambling based on the arrangement of computers and other equipment in the area. They also found that the network had cultivated cannabis for commercial use.
The officials believe that the network used this venue to broadcast overseas football matches to its 30,000 members, causing over 2.9 billion baht in damage.
The department has requested arrest warrants against five suspects so far. One of them is also a member of the network consisting of businessmen, politicians and policemen, the officials said.
The officials added that two suspects who work as administrators had been arrested in Songkhla province, and were being taken to the DSI headquarters in Bangkok.
Initially, those suspects were charged with violating the broadcasting rights of the European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2024, and money laundering, the officials said.
The department vowed to continue the investigation into whether the network was involved with online gambling, and whether they had sought permission to grow cannabis under the laws.
