Police arrested a 71 year old Thai woman for her role in a gambling fraud scheme that swindled more than 9 million baht from a businesswoman in Phuket, with investigators later linking her to a string of similar cases nationwide that caused losses exceeding 64 million baht.
The suspect, identified only as Sor, was arrested on Thursday, August 20, along the side of Phattana Road in the Talat Nue subdistrict of Phuket. Her arrest came after one of the victims filed a police complaint after losing more than 9 million baht to Sor and her accomplices.
According to the victim, she had advertised a plot of land in Phuket for sale for around 2 million baht. Sor and other members of what police described as a “buffalo gang” approached her under the guise of seeking more information about the property. Sor, along with a Thai man known as Dome, posed as prospective buyers and gradually gained the victim’s trust before introducing her to another man identified only as Suea.
Police said Suea then arranged for the victim to meet a woman known as Hong, who presented herself as a wealthy individual carrying large sums of cash and expressed interest in a traditional gambling game called “Fan Tan,” which involves guessing the number of pumpkin seeds hidden under a cup. Suea encouraged the victim to join the game and taught her techniques that made her believe she could not lose.
The victim eventually agreed to place bets. In the early rounds, the group deliberately let her win by having Hong make five consecutive incorrect guesses, building her confidence and prompting her to increase her wagers. At that point, members of the gang secretly removed one of the pumpkin seeds to manipulate the outcome, ensuring Hong won the round.
Suea then feigned anger, accusing the victim of having caused the missing seed and insisting she was responsible for covering the entire loss. The group repeated variations of this scheme, alternating tactics until they had extracted more than 9 million baht from the victim.
After realizing she had been deceived, the victim filed a complaint at Thalang Police Station, which led to Sor’s arrest. According to a report by KhaoSod, a review of Sor’s criminal history revealed she had been involved in comparable fraud schemes across Thailand for roughly 15 years, with the cumulative damage from her activities surpassing 64 million baht.