THAILAND (TR) – Authorities here have detained a Japanese man believed to be a top executive of a transnational telecom fraud syndicate based in Cambodia, authorities announced, reports TBS News (June 6).
The detention, announced during a press conference in Bangkok on Saturday, is tied to a major bust last year. In that case, 29 Japanese men and women operating out of a scam hub in Poipet, northwestern Cambodia, were detained by local authorities, deported, and subsequently arrested by the Aichi Prefectural Police.
According to Thai investigators, Yusuke Sasaki, 38, managed operations remotely while residing in Thailand. Working in tandem with Chinese managers at the Cambodian compound, he actively targeted and recruited heavily indebted Japanese nationals, trafficking them to the Poipet base to work as scammers in a tokushu sagi ring.
In such a ring, members pose on the telephone as police officers or other persons in authority to swindle victims.
There is no record of Sasaki traveling to Cambodia. He was living in a luxury apartment in Bangkok.
Police noted he made frequent trips across the region, traveling to China, Malaysia and Vietnam to help orchestrate the syndicate’s activities.
“We believe [Sasaki] was involved in fraud by impersonating a Japanese police officer and related money laundering. The amount of damage is estimated to be several billion yen,” a Thai police representative said.
Japanese investigative authorities have already secured an arrest warrant for the suspect. Thai police confirmed they plan to hand him over to Japan in the near future to face charges.
