Police in Bangkok have arrested a Japanese man wanted in his home country for allegedly running call centre scams and being involved in human trafficking.
Police on Saturday identified the suspect only as Sasaki, 39. He was arrested in Watthana district by Immigration Bureau officers in coordination with Japanese authorities.
Mr Sasaki is accused of running a transnational call centre fraud network based in Poipet, Cambodia, that deceived victims in Japan and caused losses of several billion yen.
Japanese law enforcement agents identified him as a key leadership figure who directed operations across several countries. He is wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the Nagoya District Court on April 1 on fraud charges.
The arrest followed an expanded investigation by Japanese authorities into a Cambodia-based scam operation targeting Japanese citizens. Investigators identified Mr Sasaki as the alleged ringleader and traced him to Thailand, where he had reportedly been hiding with his family.
The operation is part of a broader crackdown under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's policy to eliminate call centre gangs and human trafficking from Thailand.
Royal Thai Police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch has tasked Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, deputy commissioner-general and director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Centre, with working alongside international partners to prevent traffickers from using Thailand as a transit point.
Japanese investigators also found links between the network and transnational criminal groups operating from Cambodia, allegedly involving the transport and coercion of individuals into scam operations.
Mr Sasaki is expected to be extradited to Japan for legal proceedings.
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