SA KAEO — Thai authorities have arrested a Malaysian man suspected of leading a call-center scam network after he allegedly fled Cambodia and illegally crossed into Thailand amid border unrest, police said.
Officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division, under the Central Investigation Bureau, arrested Ang Joo, a Malaysian national, on December 22 in Khlong Nam Sai subdistrict of Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, near the Thai-Cambodian border.
Ang was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on March 5, 2024, on charges including conspiracy to defraud the public by impersonation, inputting false information into computer systems, illegal possession and use of telecommunications equipment, and illegal entry into the country.
Police officers escort and hand over a Malaysian suspect accused of running a call scam network to investigators for further questioning after his arrest in eastern Thailand, Dec. 22, 2025.The arrest followed an earlier raid in Bangkok in which police seized four GSM gateway devices, commonly known as “sim boxes,” from a condominium in the Lat Phrao area. Such devices are frequently used by call-center scam gangs to route and disguise fraudulent calls.
Investigators later arrested an Indonesian man identified as Kevin and his Thai wife, Jiranan, at a luxury villa in Cha-am district, Phetchaburi province. Police said the couple admitted to installing the sim box equipment and identified Ang as their employer.
According to police, the suspects told investigators that Ang, a Malaysian of Chinese descent, had been directing the operation while living in Poipet, Cambodia, and had ordered the installation of the sim box devices in Thailand. Authorities then sought and obtained an arrest warrant for him.
Police said Ang later fled Cambodia and reentered Thailand through an illegal border crossing after clashes erupted along parts of the Thai-Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo province, prompting concerns for his safety.
During questioning, Ang confessed to ordering Kevin to place sim box devices at multiple locations in Thailand, police said. He told investigators he fled Cambodia fearing for his safety amid the border violence, which led to his arrest.
Ang was handed over to investigators for further legal proceedings, police said.
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