The Cyber Police arrested a man selling “sim cards,” who was advertising in a Facebook group and paying a mere 15 baht to register each phone number.
On September 24, Police Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Worawat Watnakhonbanchak instructed relevant officers to execute a search warrant at a residence in the Saphan Sung district of Bangkok. There, they apprehended 35-year-old Mr. Paisan Lamai from Kamphaeng Phet province under charges related to facilitating the illegal purchase and sale of registered mobile phone numbers.
According to Pol. Lt. Gen. Worawat, the investigation began after cybercrime detectives discovered a Facebook user posting offers to sell mobile numbers in a group dedicated to buying and selling both registered and unregistered sim cards. This activity poses a risk, as it can enable criminals to use previously registered numbers for illegal activities such as scams or telemarketing fraud.
Following an investigation that identified Mr. Paisan as the Facebook user, the police gathered evidence, obtained a search warrant, and arrested him at his home, seizing a total of 198 sim cards (5 registered and others unregistered) and one mobile phone.
During questioning, Mr. Paisan admitted to purchasing empty sim cards for 80 baht each and paying 15 baht for registration before selling them for 120 baht each, yielding a profit of 25 baht per sim card. He has been operating this illicit trade for around three months, with an average of 1,500-1,600 sim cards sold per month, generating an average income of 37,500 – 40,000 baht monthly. He was taken into custody along with the evidence for further legal action.
This article was rewritten from a Thairath’s news article.
