Crime & Courts

Japanese Man Detained in Thailand for Suspected Frauds in Myanmar

Royal Thai Army, by Army Spokesperson via AP
In this photo released by Royal Thai Army, more than 250 people from 20 nations who were reportedly rescued from alleged scam centers in Myanmar, as they crossed into Thailand’s Tak province on Wednesday.

Jiji Press

13:59 JST, February 14, 2025

BANGKOK (Jiji Press) — Thai police said Thursday they have detained a 29-year-old Japanese man for his suspected role in online frauds in Myanmar.

The man was held by Thai police on Thursday after arriving at an airport in the Thai capital of Bangkok on a flight from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, according to Thai police and other sources.

The detainee, for whom an arrest warrant has been issued in Japan over separate cases, is expected to be deported to Japan for further investigations.

The Japanese man is suspected of playing a role in running online frauds at a base of a Chinese crime ring in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayin near the border with Thailand.

Thai police suspect the Japanese man’s involvement in a case in which a Japanese high school student, deceived by someone who the student got to know in an online game, arrived in Thailand and was taken to a crime base in Myanmar in January. The student was later placed under protection.