Pokémon card trader allegedly swindles collectors of 5 million baht

Around 20 individuals have allegedly lost more than 5 million baht due to purchases and exchanges involving Pokémon cards and other collectible cards, leading to a police complaint. Tankhun Jitt-itsara, chairman of the Santi Prachatham Club, accompanied the complainants to the Central Investigation Bureau’s complaint centre. One complainant, a 15-year-old boy named A, met the accused at a gaming and card event in Bangkok.

The accused befriended A, encouraging him to order Pokémon cards. Over four months, A ordered cards and averaged a 10% profit by reselling them. However, problems arose with A's latest order, as the cards did not arrive. A was given several explanations and had lent the person around 10,000 baht, resulting in an estimated loss of 140,000 baht.

A learned of 20 others with similar problems, totaling alleged losses exceeding 5 million baht. The accused has since deactivated their social media accounts. Another complainant, a 23-year-old named L, had traded cards with the accused through graded Pokémon cards. When L wanted an expensive "Split Earth" card, the accused offered to get one for a lower price but later faced similar issues as the other complainants, resulting in around 640,000 baht in losses. Tankhun believes more complainants will come forward.