Bangkok metropolitan police raided an office in a luxury apartment complex on Phetchaburi Road, Huai Khwang district, Bangkok, on 4/3. The operation followed public reports of numerous Vietnamese nationals working illegally at the location.

The office, located on the ground floor of the condominium, was kept locked with 24/7 security. Thai police had been monitoring the location for some time, observing that all employees were foreign nationals working in shifts around the clock, with each shift comprising at least 20 personnel. Cleaning staff were only permitted to tidy the front area, not the inner rooms.

During the search, Bangkok police found and arrested 94 Vietnamese citizens – 69 men and 25 women – on charges of operating a transnational gambling and betting ring. Authorities seized 68 computers and approximately 500 mobile phones.

Inside the office, several computer screens displayed Vietnamese-language websites offering gambling and football betting services, with transactions conducted in Vietnamese dong.

Thai police search the office of a Vietnamese gambling and betting ring in Bangkok, 4/3. Photo: Machiton.

One Vietnamese suspect, a recent graduate, stated that they were recruited for a "customer care" position in Thailand with a salary of 30,000 baht per month (approximately 950 USD).

The individual claimed to have traveled to Thailand with six other Vietnamese friends on tourist visas, stating they "did not know they would be forced to work for an online gambling ring".

No suspects identified the ringleader, Thai police reported, adding that an expanded investigation is underway. Images of ID cards provided by police show the Vietnamese group used a series of fake, non-Vietnamese names such as Thyna, Kiven, and Dalziel.

A series of fake names used on ID cards by the Vietnamese suspects. Photo: Matichon.

Thai police initially believe the ring targeted customers in Vietnam, with large sums of money transacting through the websites.

A Thai national working in the same building reported that local Thais "had suspected the group for a long time".

"Everyone found it very suspicious," an unnamed woman said, "because they worked in a locked room with a guard at the door, despite multiple guards already present at the building's entrance. Fast food at the nearby convenience store was also frequently bought out." She added that before the Vietnamese group, a group of Myanmar and Cambodian nationals had worked in the same office.

In 3/2025, Thai police dismantled a betting website office in a Lat Phrao condominium, Bangkok, arresting one Chinese national and three Vietnamese women.

In 3/2024, Bangkok police arrested a group of 18 Vietnamese nationals accused of operating an online gambling ring in a house in Rama 9 district.

By Duc Trung (Based on Bangkok Post, Thaiger, Thai Rath)