BANGKOK, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- A gang selling amulets were arrested for swindling more than 500 million baht (14.7 million U.S. dollars), Thai police said on Monday.
The Crime Suppression Division(CSD) arrested two heads of the gang last Saturday.
According to police, the gang claimed that they imported the amulet from Myanmar and India where monks spent seven days and nights conducting praying and anointing ceremony on them.
"We got tip-offs from the victims. They said the gang inveigled them into selling amulets including talisman, Ganesha and jade which were said to be able to bring good fortune. The amulets advertised on social media were sold at more than 100,000 baht(2,941 U.S. dollars) each," said Chakrid, deputy commander of the CSD.
He said the scam was debunked as investigation showed that the amulets, including the fake jades, were purchased domestically before they were sold online.
Pravinnud, 33, a victim from the swindler unveiled that she was persuaded to be a distributor of the amulets after she bought a Ganesha from the Facebook page operated by the gang.
She said the gang offered lucrative commissions, leading her to invite her relatives and friends to buy the goods. She has been selling the amulets for seven months, resulting in a loss of more than 10 million baht(294,117 U.S. dollars).
Mystical amulets are popular in Thailand, where ancient beliefs in magic are still prevalent. They are supposed to bring wealth, luck, health, love or happiness to the wearer.
In 2016, a craze for lifelike supernatural dolls swept Thailand. The price of a doll can range from 1,500 baht (44 U.S. dollars) to tens of thousands of baht. People raised them lavishly, believing if they take care of the dolls, luck will come to them.
Some airlines even tried to offer tickets and seats for the dolls. Restaurants offered meals for the dolls at child rates. But later police found doll sellers evade import taxes and load the dolls with drugs.
