Thai police, in a joint operation across Chanthaburi, Trat, and Sa Kaeo provinces, recently launched a large-scale enforcement action, uncovering multiple cases of transnational illegal entry. This operation resulted in the arrest of 73 Chinese nationals and 4 Thai suspects, along with the seizure of large quantities of communication devices and related evidence.
According to Thai Headline News, the Chanthaburi Immigration Bureau discovered 42 Chinese nationals at a resort on the 5th. After a preliminary passport check, only 7 people had passports: 3 of them had valid visas, 3 had passports without entry stamps, and 1 had an expired visa; the remaining 35 had no passport documents at all. Police seized 215 mobile phones, 11 laptops, over 800,000 baht in cash, 4 USB drives, as well as 10 Myanmar SIM cards.
Initial police investigations indicate that most of these Chinese nationals had departed from Myanmar, entered northern Thailand, then traveled to Bangkok, and later took a car to Chanthaburi, planning to cross the border from there into Cambodia.
On the same day, police in Trat inspected a hotel and found 10 Chinese nationals. Only one person had a legal passport; 8 were overstaying their visas and one was suspected of illegal entry.
Police found 30 mobile phones, 1 laptop, 1 mobile signal amplifier, and a charging work station in their rooms and luggage. Preliminary assessment suggested these were devices used by a telecom fraud gang, and all have been confiscated for investigation.
Further police investigation revealed that several of them had legally entered Thailand and then crossed the border into Myanmar for work. Recently, due to explosions in Myanmar, they re-entered Thailand.
In addition, the Eastern Operations Force of Thailand intercepted and checked a natural border crossing in Sa Kaeo province on the 5th and found, in a bush, 21 people preparing to leave the country illegally, including 17 Chinese nationals and 4 Thai nationals.
Preliminary interrogation showed that all arrested individuals stated they planned to go to Poipet, Cambodia to work as “online website administrators.”
Thai media reported that as of October 29, over 1,500 telecom fraud operators from places such as the KK Park have entered Thailand, the majority of whom have been successively apprehended by police. The phenomenon suggests that crackdowns within Myanmar are pushing cross-border telecom fraud operatives to neighboring countries, which is bringing new challenges to Thailand’s border security and immigration management.