Thailand Extradites Alleged Leader of International Illegal Gambling Ring

What Happened?

Authorities in Thailand have extradited She Zjijiang, a Chinese national accused of running a massive illegal international gambling ring headquartered near the border of Thailand and Myanmar. Mr. Zjijiang was first arrested by Thai police in 2022, and he has been held ever since on a multitude of charges, including human trafficking, illegal gambling, and other online fraud schemes. 

His extradition comes just before a key visit by Thailand's king to Beijing, which will be the first state visit to China by a Thai monarch and an indication of deepening ties between the two countries.

Why it Matters

Online fraud and scams have dramatically increased around the world in the past several years. In the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission, American consumers lost over twelve billion dollars in 2024 to scams, up twenty-five percent from 2023. Because many of those scams are conducted online and across national boundaries electronically, the sources are often beyond the jurisdiction of the countries most affected by fraudulent activities. 

That appears to have been the case for Mr. Zjijiang, who allegedly ran what became known as scam city on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. Scam city refers to Shwe Kokko, which was often advertised as a resort community to potential tourists in China and Thailand. But in reality, the place was home to a large, organized crime syndicate, allegedly headed by She Zhijiang, which tricked people into visiting with tourism ads, then forced them to work in office buildings dedicated to hosting hundreds of multi-national online scams.

The types of scams varied from illegal and fraudulent gambling activities to real escalate scams, identity scams, and even romance scams. Because of the remote location and lax law enforcement by both Thai and Myanmar authorities, criminal activities flourished and grew into a multi-billion-dollar per year activity. Both Thailand and Myanmar have been beset by a number of internal political struggles, including a civil war in Myanmar, which left places like Shwe Kokko almost entirely free from government oversight or policing.

Speaking to the British Broadcasting Corporation from prison earlier this year, She Zhijiang maintained that his company would ‘never accept telecom fraud and scams’ though he also admitted that scammers were likely to enter Shwe Kokko since the city was ‘completely open to anyone.’ His extradition to China may have been a show of good faith ahead of the first meeting between Thailand’s monarch and Beijing. 

How it Affects You

The extradition and prosecution of Mr. Zjijiang could be a significant first step by Asian countries to crack down on large-scale fraudulent enterprises and scams run from within their borders. Those scams often have victims in countries around the world, including the United States, because scammers target citizens of wealthier nations to increase their potential take.