Sixteen Chinese and Pakistani nationals were arrested in Sa Kaeo today, May 19, after they were allegedly smuggled across the border from Poipet, Cambodia, and found packed inside a pickup truck with a Thai driver.
Military officers, district officials, and village security volunteers launched the operation after residents reported a suspicious vehicle circling in Non Mak Mun subdistrict, Khok Sung district, late at night.
Officials intercepted the pickup near the border and found 16 foreigners inside, comprising 10 Chinese nationals and six Pakistani nationals. The Thai driver, 35 year old Surat Boonkrut, was also arrested.
Initial questioning found the group had travelled to Poipet for work after being persuaded to take jobs linked to online businesses and restaurants.
They said they were not paid as agreed, while some claimed they were forced to work and controlled for more than six months before fleeing at night.
Officials said the group was allegedly moved in stages, first by vehicle from Poipet to an area near the border. Cambodian guides then led them through sugarcane fields and natural crossings into Ban Ang Sila, where a Thai broker was allegedly waiting to take them further into Thailand.
During the search, officials found multiple mobile phones, foreign SIM cards, and several passports. Some of the foreigners had no identification documents, leading officials to suspect links to a cross-border smuggling network and illegal labour activity along the border.
Surat reportedly confessed that he had been hired by a broker named Preeda to pick up the foreigners. He said he was paid 50 baht per person to take them to Aranyaprathet district but was intercepted before reaching the destination.
Khaosod reported that all suspects were taken to Khok Sung Police Station for legal action. Officials are expanding the investigation to track down the remaining brokers involved in the smuggling network.
Similarly, last year, Thai border forces arrested a Chinese national linked to a call centre scam and found 1,000 mobile SIM cards near the Thai-Cambodian border. The equipment was reportedly being sent to an employer in Myawaddy.
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