Bangkok: Police launched a surprise operation, raiding a resort in Pong Nam Ron District, Chanthaburi Province, arresting 42 Chinese nationals and seizing 215 mobile phones and numerous work equipment as they attempted to cross the border to Cambodia.

According to Thai News Agency, immigration officials in Chanthaburi Province received crucial information from a secret informant that a group of Chinese nationals were staying at a resort in Pong Nam Ron District in a suspicious manner and may be linked to illegal activities. They are suspected of preparing to cross the border to a call center gang’s base of operations in Cambodia.

When the task force entered the resort and searched 11 rooms, they found a total of 42 Chinese nationals, all of whom had recently travelled from the North and had checked in that afternoon, with the primary purpose of crossing the border into Cambodia. Upon searching the rooms, officers seized a large number of devices used in the crime, indicating that these individuals may have been preparing to form an international scam gang.

From the search, a large amount of evidence was seized, clearly indicating the equipment used by scammers. The officers seized a large amount of belongings that may be related to online fraud, including 215 mobile phones, 11 laptops, 807,000 baht in cash, 10 Myanmar SIM cards, flash drives and notebooks.

A review of travel documents revealed that the majority of the 35 Chinese nationals did not have passports, while three others had passports but lacked entry stamps. Authorities subsequently arrested 38 Chinese nationals on charges of illegal entry and other offenses. They then recorded their arrests and seizures and handed them over to investigators at the Pong Nam Ron Police Station for further legal proceedings.

The Chanthaburi Immigration Bureau also stated that they will expedite the investigation to identify the network and the masterminds, and investigate any links to scammer gangs or transnational human trafficking networks using Thailand as a transit point.