Police said hundreds of people lodged complaints after finding themselves at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday with no flight to board. They said they had booked six-day tour packages with WealthEver, better known as a multi-level marketing company.

Victims told Thai television interviewers that they paid 9,730 baht ($280) for a package including airfare and accommodation. One way-fare from Bangkok to Tokyo alone typically costs more than $400.

Thai media reported that WealthEver boss Pasit Arinchalapit was detained by police late Wednesday in Ranong, a border province, after a manhunt was launched for her. They also reported that Pasit had been the object of fraud complaints before, and has changed her name several times.

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Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, asked about the incident, warned his fellow Thais against gullibility that makes them victims to such scams.

"Thai people believe others too easily," Prayuth said. "When I say something, people really don't believe me, but they believe it when other people talk, and then they get scammed. I'm not saying I am better, but I don't cheat people."

Thailand's Songkran holiday is usually a time for merry-making, though the death in October of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and an official one-year mourning period are expected to put a damper on the fun this year.

Many people take the opportunity of the holiday — officially three days long but in practice extending up to a week — to return from the big cities to their families' home villages. The mass movement of people, along with the drinking that accompanies the revelry, leads to a surge in traffic deaths in a country already noted for having the second-highest traffic fatality rate in the world.

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