AFP senior officer Kristie-Lee Cressy said at the Bangkok press conference that at least 14,000 Australians had fallen victim to this scam.
“The group amassed at least 1.9 million in (Australian dollars) from Australian victims in just the short time it had been operating. Money that we say was stolen from hard-working Australians and not invested as promised,” she said.
“Shutting down this scam centre is a significant win for the communities of Thailand and Australia.”
The Australian authorities believe the two leaders of the group had been running scams for many years and operating in several countries, including Indonesia, where they had escaped arrest before being found in Thailand, Jirabhob said.
The group of men arrested in Thailand on Monday included six British, five Australians, one Canadian and one South African, officials said. They said the suspects denied all wrongdoing, saying that they believed they were working legally for a legitimate investment company.
Immigration officials said they entered Thailand with different kinds of visas, including for retirement and education.
Jirabhob said they were initially charged with racketeering and working in Thailand without a permit. He said further investigation could lead to more serious charges, including fraud and involvement in a transnational organised crime.
Australian police officer Cressy said Australia suffered an estimated damage of A$4.45 billion (US$2.91 billion) from online scams in the past four years.
A United Nations report in April said transnational organised crime groups in East Asia and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by the authorities.
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