A Chinese gang boss was arrested amid a crackdown on call centre scams in Thailand.

Scam ringleader Demin Wen, 35, reportedly ran a network that sold fake social media accounts to criminals using illegally modified devices. The gang allegedly installed illegal SIM boxes and related equipment in numerous facilities across Thailand.

Crime Suppression Division officers nabbed Demin while he was fleeing along a dirt road in Sa Kaeo province leading into neighbouring Cambodia on December 2. His Chinese wife, Yin Xiaoying, 37, was caught at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on December 1.

The couple were caught nearly a week after police raided 11 locations in Chiang Mai province linked to the gang operations. Demin's Thai lover, Jiraphan Prakobkit, 30, was arrested in one of the raids.

Police Major General Montree Theskhan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division, said: 'The suspect claimed that he did not know that his Thai wife was arrested. He also said that he did not attempt to flee, but rather simply visited Rong Kluea market. Therefore, he was taken to the investigation officer, Sub-Division 4, Crime Suppression Division, for further legal action.'

The recent arrests are part of an operation dubbed 'Crushing the Grey Dragon'. Authorities expanded a previous investigation in which the Crime Suppression Bureau busted numerous call centre scam hubs across nine provinces in May.

On November 26, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) raided 11 locations across Chiang Mai province and arrested 15 suspects. They also seized 642 GSM Gateway SIM boxes, 72 computers, 1,455 mobile phones, 47 SIM card readers, six bank accounts, one rental document, 10 PCI cards and circuit boards, one external storage device, one antenna disk, and 590,000 SIM cards from Hong Kong, Thailand, and other various countries.

The gang had reportedly been active for two years, with Jiraphan responsible for finding locations in which to install the SIM boxes. The devices were then used to generate one-time passwords, which were sold at 1 yuan each to verify fake social media accounts.

They also allegedly modified the devices to bypass security algorithms on social media platforms to make the fraudulent accounts appear legitimate.