Thailand Arrests 8 Chinese in Pattaya Villa Running Douyin Romance-Investment Scam Targeting Chinese Victims, Posing as Army Generals
Thailand arrested eight Chinese nationals on 9 November 2026 in a Nong Prue, Pattaya, villa raid over a Douyin romance-and-investment scam targeting Chinese victims, with operators posing as army generals. All eight had entered illegally; four were wanted in China. Two Myanmar housekeepers were also detained. Seizures included two laptops, 32 phones and 178-plus SIM cards. Loss figures conflict: a still-unverified 300-million-baht estimate, or about 350 million baht in recorded transfers.
PATTAYA, Thailand, Nov. 9, Thailand has arrested eight Chinese nationals in a Monday afternoon raid on a luxury two-storey house in Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province, that investigators said was being used as a base for a “hybrid” romance-and-investment scam aimed at Chinese victims. Police said all eight had entered Thailand illegally, seven across the Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo province and one through Chong Mek in Ubon Ratchathani, and that four were wanted in China: Yang Wang, on a fraud warrant; Chao Fang, on an assault warrant; and Zuo Guifu and Xu Ningxun, in connection with call-centre cases.
The operation was ordered by Pol. Gen. Samran Nuanma (สำราญ นวลมา), Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, and led by Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopsilp Poolsawat (นพศิลป์ พูลสวัสดิ์), Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, and Pol. Lt. Gen. Wasan Techa-akkarakasem (วสันต์ เตชะอัครเกษม), Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 2. They were joined by Pol. Maj. Gen. Thanit Thaiwatcharamas (ธนิต ไทยวัชรามาศ), Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, and Pol. Maj. Gen. Sarawut Khon-yai (สราวุธ คนใหญ่), Commander of the Immigration Investigation Division, with officers from Immigration Investigation Division 3, Chonburi Immigration, and Nong Prue Police Station, under a warrant from Chonburi Provincial Court (some English reports named Pattaya Provincial Court). Police said the raid began at about 4 p.m.
Officers at the property in Nong Prue. Photo: The Pattaya News, 9 November 2026.
Officers seized two laptop computers, 32 mobile phones and more than 178 SIM cards. Police described the scheme as a hybrid scam that first built romantic relationships with Chinese targets, then steered them into fake investments. Investigators said one team found victims on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok; a second spent about 15 to 30 days cultivating the relationship before persuading targets to download a fake app for investing in Chinese pharmaceutical shares and transfer money to bank accounts in China; and a third team, based in China, withdrew the funds.
About 100 Chinese victims have been identified, police said, and about 2 million baht in losses was recorded on the morning of the raid alone. Manager Online, Khaosod and Daily News reported a preliminary estimate from questioning of cumulative losses as high as 300 million baht, still being verified. The Pattaya News, Thai Rath and The Thaiger reported that bank-transfer records showed roughly 700 transactions totaling about 350 million baht into a Chinese account. Some English reports said most victims were widows; Thai Rath’s English report said the scam mainly targeted married women in China.
Detainees in the living area of the house after the raid. Photo: The Pattaya News, 9 November 2026.
Police said two of the detained Chinese nationals had dressed as Chinese army lieutenant generals to make their profiles more convincing, and that chat records showed operators posing as high-ranking Chinese military officers. They said the group had rented the house for 140,000 baht a month and had used it as a base for about six months.
Two Myanmar nationals, named in Thai reports as Min Khing and Nang Thazin Aye, were also detained and were described as housekeepers or cleaners; one was accused of illegal entry and the other of overstaying by 357 days. Police named Guan Chunyu, a 37-year-old Chinese national, as the alleged ringleader. The Pattaya News reported that he was not among those detained. Investigators have not clearly announced Thai criminal charges for the scam itself beyond immigration findings and the stated intention to gather evidence, verify identities and warrants with Thai and Chinese databases, and expand the investigation, including against the group in China that allegedly withdrew the money.
Officers with catalogued phones, passports and other seized items at the 9 November briefing. Photo: The Pattaya News.
What the footage shows
A.E.C News video footage of the raid showed officers entering a white two-storey luxury villa in Pattaya through an ornate black gate. Inside, the house appeared lived-in, sofas, a kitchen and framed pictures, and several men, some shirtless, were detained and escorted downstairs without visible resistance. At a subsequent press briefing, a yellow evidence board showed photographs of men in Chinese military uniform, and a table held catalogued phones with white tape labels, passports, and clear zip-bags of SIM cards marked 38, 35, 10, 40 and 55.
The press briefing, with a yellow evidence board and seized devices on the table. Photo: Thai Rath, 9 November 2026.
Source: Immigration Bureau and Provincial Police Region 2 briefing of 9 November 2026, as reported by Manager Online, Khaosod, Daily News, Thai Rath and The Pattaya News. Visual description of the raid is from A.E.C News video footage, 9 November 2026, 17:31.