The pilot who needed help with customs was never a pilot at all

On May 22, 2026, Thai police walked into a luxury condo in Nonthaburi and found eighteen phones, three laptops, and the machine behind a wave of AI-powered romance scams aimed at older Thai women. The men inside had been overstaying their visas for years. The women on the other end of the screen had been falling in love with people who did not exist.