Bangkok immigration officers have arrested a 39-year-old Japanese national wanted by Japan for alleged involvement in call centre fraud and human trafficking.
Sasaki was detained on Saturday in the Watthana district following joint operations between Thailand’s Immigration Bureau and Japanese authorities. He is accused of running a transnational call centre fraud network based in Poipet, Cambodia, which allegedly defrauded victims in Japan of several billion yen.
Japanese law enforcement identified Sasaki as a key figure in the operation, believed to have directed activities across multiple countries. The Nagoya District Court issued an arrest warrant on April 1 on fraud charges.
The arrest follows an expanded Japanese investigation into the Cambodia-based scam network targeting Japanese citizens. Sasaki was identified as the ringleader and tracked to Thailand, where he had reportedly been hiding with his family.
The operation is part of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s push to dismantle call centre gangs and combat human trafficking in Thailand. National police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch has tasked Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, deputy commissioner-general and director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Centre, with coordinating with international partners to prevent traffickers from using Thailand as a transit point.
Japanese investigators also found links between Sasaki’s network and transnational criminal organisations operating from Cambodia, allegedly involving the forced movement of individuals into scam operations.
Sasaki is expected to be extradited to Japan to face charges, reported Bangkok Post.
In another separated incident, Cambodia released 635 Thai nationals through the Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo on April 30 after a crackdown on online scam networks. Each returnee faces screening, with victims to receive support and those linked to crime facing prosecution.