Police raided four sites from where an online gambling network was being operated in Bangkok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Sa Kaew provinces on Tuesday.
An unnumbered house in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district was the first to be searched after police learned gambling websites were being run from there.
In the house, police found 120 employees who ran the websites and learned each website had about 4,000 members and generated up to Bt30 million monthly.
As many as 15 websites with 60,000 to 70,000 members were being operated from this house, generating about Bt300 million per month. Hence, police believe a big syndicate may be behind this operation.
Two sites in Bangkok and one in Nakhon Ratchasima were also searched and police collected transaction records as evidence.
A businessman based in Aranyaprathet is believed to be behind the online gambling operation.
Thailand saw 25 new cases in quarantine over a 24-hour period, Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Wednesday.
He also confirmed that of 196 people who had travelled back from Tachilek province in Myanmar, 46 were found to have been infected. Only 17 entered the country illegally, he added.
The latest cases in the past 24 hours comprise both Thais and foreigners from abroad:
> Two Kuwaiti women, aged 31 and 71. The elderly woman had already been infected in October.
> Six from Switzerland – a Thai female accountant, 46, a Thai businesswomen, 50, three Thai maids, 52, 60, and 67, and a Swiss man, 53.
> Seven Thai women, ranging in age from 25-35. They worked in entertainment venues in Myanmar.
> A Russian diving instructor, 31, who travelled from his home country.
> A Thai female merchant, 52, who returned from Sweden.
> A Thai steersman, 27, who came home from Singapore.
> A Libyan woman, 32, and her son, 4, who travelled from Turkey.
> Two Thais – a female operating room officer, 59, and a female student, 18 – who travelled back from the United States.
> Three tourists who flew in from South Korea – a Korean man, 44, a Korean boy, 8, and a Japanese woman, 43.
Meanwhile, six patients have recovered and been discharged.
“I would like to thank all those who have cooperated with us. This will help keep our country safe,” Dr Taweesin said while talking about the 196 who travelled back from Myanmar’s Tachilek province.
He added that any Thais who want to return home should first contact officers instead of deciding to cross the border by themselves. He also encouraged people to continue with their travel plans but follow the rules by wearing a mask.
As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand has increased to 4,151 (1,164 in state quarantine). Of these, 211 are in hospital and 3,880 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains at 60.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed cases has reached 68.56 million (increasing by 584,388). Of these, 47.45 million have recovered, 19.54 million are active cases (106,441 in severe condition) and 1.56 million have died (an increase of 11,714).
Thailand ranks a safe 151st for most cases in the world, while the US has the most number, with 15.59 million, followed by India (9.74 million), Brazil (6.67 million), Russia (2.51 million) and France (2.3 million).
A gang which abducted a Chinese man were nabbed on Tuesday and confessed that they had kidnapped him for Bt15-million ransom because of a conflict over the budget for constructing a building.
Thong Lo police, which were investigating the case starting with an examination of an area in Soi Sukhumvit 39, traced a white Mitsubishi in which the victim was taken to Suphan Buri province.
They subsequently arrested one Chinese man with Malaysian nationality and his four Thai accomplices in Bang Pla Ma district and rescued the victim.
The Malaysian kidnapper told police he had a conflict with the victim and his company over the construction and he could not withdraw money for the project.
He, therefore, decided to abduct his compatriot for ransom.
A man who illegally smuggled 13 Cambodians into Thailand was arrested in Surin province early on Wednesday.
At 5.30am, the police arrested Thawatchai Yantaphan, 24, who was hired to transport illegal immigrants to appointed provinces.
Each of the 13 Cambodians paid him Bt2,000 for the trip into Thailand.
Thawatchai was charged with hiding or helping illegal immigrants enter the country and for illegal transportation, while the Cambodians faced charges of illegal entry.
Police patrols in Surin have been intensified as vehicles transport goods into the kingdom from the neighbouring country.
The truck drivers are normally screened and their vehicles sanitised before entering Thailand to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The Cabinet has approved a further discount on registration fees – from 30 per cent to 50 per cent – for entrepreneurs who wish to register online to become juristic persons in a bid to attract both foreign and local investors to establish their businesses in the kingdom, government deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday.
“The Commerce Ministry had opened an online channel for juristic person registration [e-registration] since April 2018 that offered 30 per cent discount on the registration fee compared to the walk-in registration fee at branch offices,” she said.
“About 4 per cent of registrations were done online, so the Cabinet has agreed to offer a bigger discount to attract new entrepreneurs,” Ratchada said.
“Furthermore, the Cabinet also agreed to extend the discount period by three years, from the original December 31 deadline. Therefore, the 50 per cent discount on the registration fee will be offered until the end of 2023,” she said.
“This campaign is part of an effort to increase the efficiency of government services by streamlining the process and driving us toward becoming a digital government,” Ratchada added.