Authorities have arrested three people accused of swindling at least 30 others out of 50 million baht for investments promising high returns on gold bars.
The arrests were made in Phaya Thai district of Bangkok on Saturday.
Police said that Paweera Wongpakdi and her two accomplices, who were not identitifed, had lured people into investing in gold bars on her Facebook page.
Ms Paweera claimed she could buy bullion from reliable gold shops at below-market prices, and then resell it for handsome profits. This attracted several people to invest with her, said Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau.
Some of the early investors in the scheme did receive some profits, he said.
That encouraged about 30 others to invest a total of about 50 million with the suspect. But after they transferred the money, they received neither profits nor gold. This prompted them to file a complaint with the Thailand Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (Tactics), said Pol Maj Gen Surachate, also deputy director of this agency.
Ms Paweera and her two accused accomplices, a man and a woman, were being held in police custody at the Phaya Thai station on charges of defrauding the public.
