Gang allegedly duped elderly out of more than Bt1m
The alleged leader of a gang that duped at least two elderly people out of at least Bt1 million in Samut Songkhram's Ampawa district has been arrested.
Khampol Boonma, 67, was apprehended at his home in Chacherngsao province at 11pm on Thursday and was taken to Muang Samut Songkhram Police Station for interrogation early on Friday morning.
He reportedly confessed to having conspired with six others to dupe elderly people in Samut Songkhram on various occasions.
Police said the gang would offer to buy land from and befriend their elderly targets. They would then tell them they wanted to buy another plot of land but they were short of about Bt500,000.
They then borrowed the money from the victims with a promise to return the money within days at 3 per cent interest, along with the land sale commission fee of Bt350,000.
An arrest warrant was issued for Khampol for fraud following a complaint by 70-year-old Chor Khachenthorn, who claimed she was duped out of Bt600,000 by the gang on July 11, and 64-year-old Thongjua Klapsakul, who claimed to be duped out of Bt500,000 on Thursday.
The case also prompted Muang Samut Songkhram police to contact local banks to alert police if any elderly customers withdrew a large amount of money.