He Was Promised ฿80,000 A Month. He Ended Up Running Scams In 12-Hour Shifts. Then He Escaped And Called The Police.

🌡️ Weather: 26-33°C (79-91°F). Heavy rain continues through October 25. Bangkok expects thunderstorms over 60% of the area. Flash flood risks in low-lying areas.

🌫️ Air Quality: 66-77 (Moderate). Acceptable range. Not bad for a Friday.

🗞️ TOP STORY

IMMIGRATION RAIDED THREE RENTED BANGKOK HOUSES AND ARRESTED 11 CHINESE NATIONALS RUNNING A GAMBLING AND SCAM NETWORK. THE HOUSES ARE PART OF A BIGGER PROBLEM.

Thai immigration officers arrested 11 Chinese nationals at three rented houses in Bangkok's Sai Mai district on October 22. Police identified the network as "Hong Kuan," operating an online gambling website called HGA alongside a call center scam that targeted Chinese nationals. A 25-year-old Chinese man named Liu escaped from the group and approached officers with evidence. Liu told investigators he had been recruited to work in Thailand through a job offer promising 80,000 baht per month. After arriving, he was forced to run scams involving fake missions and tasks, pressuring victims into transferring increasingly large amounts of money before the group cut contact. He said workers maintained the gambling website in 12-hour shifts under close supervision. Liu left after learning the network planned to relocate to Cambodia as enforcement increased in Thailand.

Officers seized more than 200 items including 58 mobile phones, 10 computers and over 100 Malaysian SIM cards. Five of the suspects had overstayed their visas. Others were staying in Thailand on student visas, and police are now investigating whether education centers provided documents to support their immigration status. Two Chinese nationals were identified as key figures: one named Fu was wanted in China for illegal online gambling, and another named Han was wanted under a Thai arrest warrant for a drug offense and had overstayed his visa by more than 1,200 days. Investigators estimated more than ฿100 million had circulated through the operation. This raid is part of a pattern that Bangkok residents should pay attention to. In the past two weeks, police have raided a luxury house in Bang Khen where five tonnes of cannabis were being stored, busted a Chinese and South Korean call center scam ring, and now uncovered this gambling and scam network in Sai Mai. The common thread: rented residential houses in Bangkok neighborhoods being used as bases for criminal operations. If your quiet soi suddenly has a house with closed curtains, new tenants who never leave and a lot of delivery traffic, there may be a reason.

Bottom line: 11 arrested. Three houses. ฿100 million in circulation. Online gambling, call center scams and forced labor all under one roof. The broader problem is that Bangkok's rental housing market has become infrastructure for transnational crime. Houses are cheap to rent, easy to set up and hard to monitor. This is the third major raid in two weeks targeting rented residential properties. If you are a landlord, you are now legally required to report foreign tenants. If you are a neighbor, the warning signs are worth knowing.

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HAPPY CHULALONGKORN DAY. THREE BANGKOK EXPRESSWAYS ARE TOLL-FREE TODAY. HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.

Today is Chulalongkorn Day, a public holiday honoring King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), and the Expressway Authority of Thailand is waiving tolls at 63 toll plazas across three expressways from 12:01AM to midnight. The free expressways are the Chalerm Maha Nakhon Expressway (21 plazas along the Din Daeng, Bang Na and Dao Khanong routes), plus two additional expressway systems covering the rest of the network. If you are heading out of Bangkok for the long weekend, this saves you anywhere from ฿25 to ฿160 per trip depending on the route. The exemption applies only today, October 23, and only on the three designated expressways.

Chulalongkorn Day marks the anniversary of the death of King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, who passed away on October 23, 1910. Thailand has observed this day as a national holiday ever since 1911. Rama V is remembered as the king who abolished slavery in Thailand, a process he carried out gradually over his reign and completed by 1905. He also modernized the country's infrastructure, building its first railways, establishing its postal system and reforming the government. Perhaps most significantly, he kept Thailand independent during an era when every neighboring country fell under European colonial rule. He is one of the most revered monarchs in Thai history, and today many Thais lay wreaths at his equestrian statue at the Royal Plaza in Dusit. With the holiday falling on a Friday, Bangkok gets a three-day weekend. If you are staying in Bangkok, most government offices, banks and some businesses will be closed. Shopping centers, restaurants and entertainment venues remain open. Happy long weekend.

Bottom line: Tolls waived at 63 plazas today only. Three-day weekend. Expressways will be busy despite being free. Plan your departure time accordingly.

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⚡ QUICK HITS

CP Group now holds commercial rights to four varieties of holy basil. The agriculture minister stepped in to calm the panic. CPRAM, the ready-to-eat food manufacturing arm of CP Group, developed and holds the rights to commercially grow four varieties of holy basil. Thailand's agriculture minister confirmed on October 22 that farmers and the general public can still grow these varieties for personal consumption, but growing them commercially requires permission from the rights holder. Traditional, indigenous varieties of holy basil that farmers already grow and sell remain completely unaffected. Pad krapao is not under threat. But the fact that a subsidiary of Thailand's largest conglomerate holds commercial rights to any variety of the country's most iconic ingredient is a sentence that would have sounded like satire five years ago.

Twelve people were injured when a passenger boat slammed into the pontoon at Bangkok's Sathorn pier. The accident happened at Taksin Bridge pier at 1:50PM on October 22. Five of the injured were foreign tourists who suffered abrasions and were taken to Samitivej Chinatown Hospital, while two Thai passengers were taken to Lerdsin Hospital. If you use the Chao Phraya river boats regularly, this is a reminder to hold on when the boat approaches the pier.

A 67-year-old woman drove her car through the glass window of Big C On Nut, injuring six people including a six-year-old girl. CCTV footage showed the car breaking through the glass panel on October 21. The driver reportedly hit the accelerator instead of the brake. A six-year-old girl suffered a fractured skull and was knocked unconscious. A 73-year-old woman was hospitalized in critical condition. The footage went viral. If you have been shopping at Big C On Nut and noticed the boarded-up window, now you know.

Pattaya raids targeted 12 firms in the ฿800 million nominee land probe. This is the Chon Buri follow-up to the December deadline story. Investigators are now at the door of specific companies in the Pattaya area. The nominee crackdown is no longer a press conference. It is officers at addresses.

🎵 SPOT OF THE DAY

BLACK CABIN BAR (THONGLOR SOI 16)

Black Cabin is a live music venue hidden behind an unmarked entrance on Thonglor Soi 16 that you will walk past at least once before you realize the door is right there. The bar started in the Rama 4 area in 2016 and relocated to this Thonglor location in early 2025, bringing the same cabin-in-the-forest energy to a bigger space. Walk through the guarded entrance and down a hallway, and you step into a red-lit room with a central stage, tightly packed tables and a crowd locked in on the band. The live music rotates nightly and spans soul, R&B, rock, funk, jazz and indie, with curated lineups posted on their Facebook page each month. Themed nights include Disney tributes, 80s showdowns and Sunday BBQ sessions. The cocktail menu goes deep on Thai ingredients with craft creations alongside whiskeys, local craft beers and a full bar. The food includes their signature red ant egg salad (you read that right), Black Cabin Burger with fries, Grilled Steak, Spaghetti Carbonara and Linguine with Clams.

The 4.7-star rating across 928 Google reviews at ฿400-1,600 is the score of a place where the music is the product and everything else exists to keep you in your seat. Tripadvisor ranks it #39 in Bangkok nightlife with a 4.9 rating. "Officially my favorite place in Bangkok," one reviewer wrote. Another said "if you are looking for proper music where the singers hit notes and the band knows how to work the instruments, Black Cabin is for you." A third called it "one of the best nights I've ever had." When you want live music that hits different from the cover bands on Khao San, Black Cabin is the Thonglor answer. Table bookings require bottle service. Walk-ins welcome at the bar. Opens 7PM.

→ Check their menu and find them here ←

Insider tip: Check their Facebook page for the lineup before you go. The band changes nightly and the genre shifts with it. Arrive by 9PM for a good spot. Table bookings require bottle service. Parking nearby for 100 baht. Opens 7PM Friday.

📍 466, 16 Soi Thong Lo, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
📞 081 599 9365
🕐 Open Nightly 7PM, closes 2AM
⭐ 4.7 stars (928 Google reviews) | ฿400-1,600 | Live music nightly
🌐 linktr.ee/blackcabinbar

Always check opening times before heading out.

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