Warathaphon, 41, was taken into custody at the Consumer Protection Board office at around 4pm, reports the Bangkok Post. He was there to give a statement about the operations of his business, which is being investigated for alleged pyramid selling and fraud.
The Criminal Court earlier approved arrest warrants earlier yesterday for Warathaphon and 17 others, some of them celebrities, on charges of public fraud and putting false information into a computer system.
Officers took Warathaphon with them to search his house and offices after they arrested him. He was later taken to the CIB headquarters in Bangkok.
Kan Kantathavorn, a well-known TV host and actor linked to The iCon Group, was brought to the CIB at 7:30pm. His arrest followed that of two other suspects, Jirawat Saengpakdee and Kanokthorn Puranasukhon.
The last three suspects arrested were Saowapha Wongsakha, Songkrot “Boss Peter” Sretthanan and Chetnaphat “Boss Tommy” Apiwattanakarn.
Arrested earlier were Ms Panjarat “Boss Tan” Kanokrakthanaphorn; Tananont “Boss Mor Ek” Hiranchaiwan; Ms Natpasorn “Boss Suay” Chatthanasor; Ms Yasikan “Boss Soda” Ekchisanuphong; Nantharat “Boss Om” Chaowanapreecha; Thawinphas “Boss Win” Phupattanarin; Hassayanont “Boss Pop” Ekchisanuphong, and celebrity Yuranunt “Sam” Pamornmontri.
The arrest of Mr Tananont followed an earlier unsuccessful attempt to track him down at the iCon Wellness centre in Bangkok. He is qualified as a medical technician but is accused of falsely presenting himself as a doctor of medicine.
Also in custody were three more members of The iCon Group: actress Pechaya “Boss Min” Wattanamontree, Ms Wilailak “Boss Oil” Jengsuwan; and Thanarot “Boss Off” Thitijariyawat.
Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division, ordered building management to prepare rooms to interrogate the fraud suspects and cleaning staff to clean detention rooms.
More than 1,100 people have filed fraud complaints against The iCon Group, which sold health and dietary supplements.
The company attracted many people by offering cheap online sales courses. But once they enrolled, they were asked for more money to buy products, followed by larger financial commitments to help advertise for new recruits.