Sixteen Chinese nationals suspected of running an unlawful on-line money-lending enterprise have been arrested throughout a police raid in Pattaya on Wednesday.
Following a tipoff, police and immigration officers in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district, raided a three-storey townhouse at around 3pm on Wednesday.
The officers were given information that a gang of international nationals were utilizing the house as their operational base, providing unlawful loans to shoppers in Hong Kong.
When police busted into the premises, they discovered 16 Chinese nationals, hard at work inside. They had not yet overstayed their visas, but were lending money to purchasers in Hong Kong at interest rates as high as 50%.
A great amount of tech was seized, together with desktop computers, a pocket book, a copying machine, round 20 cellphones and quite a few paperwork related with unlawful money-lending.
An investigation discovered the mortgage sharks had entered the country on tourist visas Chon Buri Police Chief Maj Gen Kitthanet Thanananthaweesin said the gang had entered Thailand six months in the past and had repeatedly modified accommodation to avoid being apprehended.
Hundreds of hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars were concerned, said Kitthanet.
During questioning, the suspects confessed they’d taken Thailand as a base to run their enterprise as it was removed from China, but to not far. Dark and accommodation prices and different bills have been low.
Licensed cash lenders who exterior the banking system are common in Hong Kong, a time immemorial. They provide an alternate supply of financing for individuals and corporations. Hong Kong people are more prone than most to such lending scams as the lending surroundings within the city is flexible and often unconventional. The main variations between these lenders and licensed operators are the penalties for default. In Hing Kong correct, excessive violence may end up for any failure to pay.
The suspects are being held in police custody at Pattaya police station for working within the country with out permission. They will quickly be handed over to Hong Kong authorities to face costs relating to unlawful money-lending.
SOURCE Bangkok Post