Crime

Alexandre Cazes: Who was the AlphaBay Founder and How did Authorities Catch Him

Within days of his arrest on July 5, Mr. Cazes was found dead hanging in a Bangkok jail.

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BANGKOK – Earlier this month, Alexandre Cazes, a computer whiz from Canada, was living in Bangkok. He had a villa in Phuket, a Lamborghini and a Porsche, along with bank accounts in Thailand, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

But the 25-year-old millionaire planted the seed of his downfall years ago, when he left his Hotmail e-mail address visible online. It was that clue which led police to detain him as the alleged mastermind of AlphaBay, a Dark Web site that served as the world’s biggest anonymous online marketplace of illegal goods.

Within days of his arrest on July 5, Mr. Cazes was found dead hanging in a Bangkok jail. His apparent suicide occurred ahead of his extradition to the United States, where he was indicted on 16 criminal counts, including racketeering, narcotics conspiracy and money laundering.

Details of the investigation that led to Mr. Cazes’s demise and the dismantling of AlphaBay are outlined in U.S. court documents released Thursday. This case amounts to the second time this year that American federal agents have successfully targeted an ostentatiously wealthy Canadian computer expert in his early 20s while unfurling a global conspiracy.

At the time the FBI shut it down, AlphaBay allegedly carried 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and chemicals and more than 100,000 listings for stolen items

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U.S. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions announced the charges in Washington, telling reporters the AlphaBay bust stands as one of the most significant criminal investigations of 2017. He said such marketplaces are directly linked to a deadly continuing opioid epidemic, which is now killing one American every 11 minutes.

“We know of several Americans who were killed by drugs [bought] on AlphaBay,” Mr. Sessions said. “One was just 18 years old when in February she overdosed on a powerful synthetic opioid which she had bought on AlphaBay.”

The RCMP assisted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in its probe of Mr. Cazes and started a parallel criminal investigation of him after being tipped by U.S. authorities in January.

While the Mounties have lately been redoubling their own efforts at tackling cybercriminals and halting fentanyl smuggling, a chief superintendent has publicly lamented how Canadian efforts have been stalled by clandestine transactions done anonymously on the Internet, through sites that bear a close resemblance to AlphaBay.

In March, an alleged hacker-for-hire from Ancaster, Ont., was arrested on a U.S. indictment alleging that he hacked customer information from computer giant Yahoo on behalf of Russian intelligence agents. Until that point, 22-year-old Karim Baratov was simply known as a wealthy Ontario resident who had somehow amassed a Lamborghini, a Porsche 911 and an Aston Martin.

According to the U.S. indictment against Mr. Cazes, he had a $23-million (U.S.) net worth. A U.S. asset-seizure order issued against him and his Thai wife includes a Lamborghini Aventador, a Porsche Panamera, a Mini Cooper, a BMW motorcycle, and accounts with four Thai banks, Bank Alpinum AG in Liechtenstein and Bitcoin Suisse AG, in Baar, Switzerland.

The filings also said the couple owned real estate in Bangkok, in the resort town of Phuket, in Cyprus and in the Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda. Mr. Cazes obtained citizenship in Antigua, the documents say, thanks to his $400,000 purchase of a beachfront property. They also say he was in the process of acquiring Cypriot citizenship by spending €2.4-million ($3.5-million) to buy a villa in Famagusta, a picturesque port on the east coast of Cyprus.

“The payments for these illegal items,” the forfeiture complaint said, “represent racketeering proceeds based on their connection to the AlphaBay marketplace.”

Mr. Cazes was born Oct. 19, 1991, and he grew up just outside Trois-Rivières, 150 kilometres downriver from Montreal. His father, Martin, a garage owner, described his son as a trouble-free child who was so gifted that he skipped a year ahead in school. “An extraordinary young man, no problems, no criminal record,” the elder Mr. Cazes recently told the TVA news network. “He never smoked a cigarette, never used drugs.”

Alexandre Cazes was 17 when he founded his own business, EBX Technologies, which he incorporated as a company selling software and repairing computers. The family believed that he had made his fortune by transacting in digital currencies, but according to the U.S. indictment, EBX Technologies was simply a front.

At the time the FBI shut it down, AlphaBay allegedly carried 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and chemicals and more than 100,000 listings for stolen items. This dwarves the 14,000 listings that had existed on Silk Road, another infamous Dark Web marketplace that was dismantled by the FBI in 2013. In fact, Mr. Cazes launched AlphaBay just a few months after Silk Road was put out of business, according to the U.S. indictment in Eastern California District Court.

Like its predecessor, AlphaBay operated on the Dark Web, which means the marketplace could be accessed only through Tor, an increasingly popular software that enables anonymized Internet communications that are very difficult to trace, even for government-intelligence agents. In addition to selling drugs, AlphaBay users also sold weapons, computer malware and stolen credit-card information.

According to the court complaint, the site charged a commission between 2 per cent and 4 per cent.

AlphaBay grew to have about 10 employees, the court documents say. “We take no responsibility if you get caught,” the site allegedly warned, “so protecting yourself is your responsibility.”

U.S. authorities began investigating AlphaBay by tasking federal agents to make undercover purchases of illicit drugs, fake ID documents and a device that steals card data from bank-machine users.

The turning point in the probe came late last year. That’s when investigators discovered that during an early phase of AlphaBay’s operations, it displayed an administrator’s e-mail address when users initiated a password-recovery process.

That e-mail – “[email protected]” – belonged to Mr. Cazes, according to U.S. federal agents. They discovered that when he was 17, Mr. Cazes used the same e-mail account to post a virus-removal tip on a tech forum.

Last month, U.S. authorities obtained warrants against Mr. Cazes, who was at his home in Bangkok when it was raided by the Royal Thai Police. They found an open laptop computer in his bedroom that was logged on AlphaBay as an administrator, the complaint said. Inside the laptop were passwords, a list of AlphaBay servers and a file detailing assets.

A week after his arrest, and just before his extradition hearing, Mr. Cazes was found dead. According to the Bangkok Post, he used a towel to hang himself from the toilet door of his cell.

In Quebec, Martin Cazes can’t comprehend that Alexandre’s life ended in such a fashion. “In my heart as a father, it’s hard to accept that my son committed suicide,” he told TVA. “He was under police supervision. It’s unbelievable.”

By Tu Thanh Ha and Colin Freeze
The Globe and Mail

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.