Chinese and Thai police have recently busted a transnational credit card fraud ring targeting Chinese citizens, dismantling multiple criminal dens and arresting nine suspects – four Chinese and five Thai nationals.

Under the guidance and coordination of the economic crime investigation bureau of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Shanghai police investigators identified a transnational criminal gang in 2025 engaged in credit card fraud targeting Chinese citizens. Chinese authorities promptly shared details of the case and requested assistance from Thai police, launching international law enforcement cooperation, the People's Daily reported on Thursday.

An investigation found that in 2024, two suspects surnamed Ji and Xiao conspired to carry out the fraud. Ji set up a dried-fruit shop in Thailand as a front, luring victims with discounts for purchases made using UnionPay cards and illegally obtaining their credit card information.

Xiao then made counterfeit cards and recruited others to use them to conduct fraudulent transactions and profit from the proceeds. So far, investigators have determined that the amount involved in the case exceeds 5 million yuan ($741,445), People's Daily reported.

In early July this year, China's MPS sent a task force to Thailand to work with Thai police on the case. The two sides conducted a detailed analysis of the criminal group's organizational structure, key members and operational bases, while gaining a comprehensive understanding of its modus operandi and financial flows.

Recently, police in both countries launched simultaneous operations, carrying out coordinated arrests and evidence collection to crack down on the group across its entire criminal chain, according to People's Daily.

An official from China's MPS said the operation was the first simultaneous joint enforcement action by Chinese and Thai police against economic crime in recent years, delivering a strong deterrent to transnational economic crime.

Next, both sides will build on the operation's results and seek to establish a regular mechanism for combating cross-border economic crime, with closer law enforcement cooperation on intelligence sharing, joint investigations, fugitive tracking and asset recovery, People's Daily reported.