200 Chinese arrested as police investigate nude photos scam
A photograph released by Cambodian police yesterday shows Chinese nationals detained in Banteay Meanchey Province. Cambodia has arrested more than 200 Chinese men and women suspected of running an online scam that persuaded victims to take pictures of themselves in the nude.
More than 200 Chinese men and women have been arrested in Cambodia in connection with an online scam where victims were blackmailed after being persuaded to take nude photographs of themselves, police said yesterday.
The arrests come as the Southeast Asian country cracks down on Chinese cyber-crime gangs who use the Internet to target fellow citizens from abroad.
The gang allegedly used Internet voice calls to contact victims in China, building up relationships over time before asking them to send nude pictures they then used as blackmail, police said.
After a tip-off from Chinese authorities, Cambodian police raided an apartment compound on the Thai border on Wednesday and detained 215 Chinese men and women.
“We are questioning them. Nearly 200 of them were involved with the crimes,” Uk Heisela, a Cambodian immigration police officer, told reporters.
China has become increasingly assertive about extraditing fraud suspects, who operate from abroad in a bid to avoid detection.
Cambodia has deported hundreds of alleged Chinese telephone and Internet fraudsters in recent years, including 74 Chinese nationals accused of running an online extortion racket last month.
Last week, it moved to deport another 31 suspects to China.
In July, a gang of 44 people from China were arrested in Thailand for allegedly running a phone scam that conned US$3 million from its victims.
