Alleged yakuza gangster arrested in ฺBangkok for running online scams

Thai police have arrested an alleged yakuza gangster who fled to Thailand and is suspected of operating call-centre scams in neighbouring countries.

Suspect Identified and Arrested

The suspect, identified as Yamaguchi, was apprehended at a luxury rented house in Bangkok’s Sathorn district. His arrest was announced at the Royal Thai Police headquarters on Thursday, with Naoto Watanabe, an assistant police attaché from the Japanese Embassy, attending the press conference.

Pol Gen Thatchai Pitanilabutr stated that the Japanese Embassy alerted the Immigration Bureau to revoke Yamaguchi’s visa on 13 March, shortly before his arrest.

He had reportedly been paying a monthly rent of 180,000 baht for his residence.

Yamaguchi’s Criminal Activities

Yamaguchi is wanted in Japan on charges of physical assault, fraud, theft, and violations of organised crime control laws.

According to Thatchai, Yamaguchi is suspected of running call-centre scams in Cambodia and Vietnam, frequently travelling between these countries before returning to Thailand.

Investigations also revealed that Yamaguchi established a company called Last Samurai Japan last year, purportedly to sell art items. However, police suspect the firm was used to launder money from his online scam operations.

Raid and Seizures

During the raid on Yamaguchi’s rented house, police discovered four other Japanese men, believed to be working for his money laundering operation. Authorities also found a hardware digital wallet containing digital assets valued at approximately 30 million baht.

Thatchai confirmed that Yamaguchi will be deported early next month after Thai police conclude their investigation.

Second Arrest and Rescued Victims

In a separate case, Thai police arrested Miyashita Mashiro, who was wanted in Japan on theft charges.

Miyashita was reportedly sent to Thailand following crackdowns on call-centre gangs operating in Myanmar border towns. He later admitted to working as a financial officer for a call-centre gang in Myanmar since January. He will also be deported to Japan soon.

Additionally, Thai police assisted two Japanese nationals who had been lured into illegally crossing the Thai border to work for a call-centre gang in a neighbouring country. The Japanese Embassy has been notified to arrange their return to Japan.

The rescued victims reported that around 10 more Japanese nationals were still working for the call-centre gang.