Police raided the homes of Vietnamese gambling gangs allegedly backed by Chinese investors in Thailand.

The Vietnamese suspects were said to be operating an illegal gambling website and forging passports and visas in three luxury villas at the Nirun Ville 10 village in Samut Prakan province.

They allegedly created multiple fake Facebook accounts to trick unsuspecting victims into clicking links - disguised as job ads or branded shops - that instead led to a website for Vietnamese lotteries.

Officers from the Thai Immigration Bureau were monitoring the area and, upon receiving a 'decisive tip', converged on one of the houses and caught several Vietnamese suspects said to be running the scheme at around 2:30 am on July 6.

Cops also raided two neighbouring houses and detained more Vietnamese nationals, bringing the total arrests to 17. They were taken to the Bang Phli district police station to be questioned.

Immigration officers said they seized 12 computers, smuggled cigarettes, and tools used to create counterfeit documents and stamps from Myanmar and Cambodia.

They said twelve suspects were charged with 'directly or indirectly persuading individuals to participate or gamble', four workers were charged with 'possessing an official seal or stamp and possessing another's passport', and one person was charged with 'smuggling cigarettes through customs.'

The Immigration Bureau said that the houses served as bases for gambling and passport forgery, through which the suspects allegedly handled 'tens of millions of baht' in cash. They workers reportedly used the forged passports and stamps to extend the gang's stay in Thailand, the bureau added.

The agency said they were initially observing the gambling hubs - which were operating for a little over a month - and finally requested a search warrant from the Samut Prakan Provincial Court when they received 'decisive proof' of the alleged illegal activities.

They added that the Vietnamese nationals were operating the website 'https://inkbio.me/luiscongviec' and were receiving instructions from a Chinese boss who communicated with them through a dummy Facebook account, which was promptly deleted after the messages were sent.

Officials said investigations are ongoing while the suspects are being prosecuted.