TAK – Police have arrested a Kenyan national at Mae Sot Airport after finding a fake immigration stamp in his passport. The suspect had been deported earlier this year, then re-entered Thailand illegally via Malaysia.
He later joined a Chinese-backed online fraud network in Myawaddy, Myanmar, before slipping back into Thailand across the Moei River and attempting to fly home using a forged immigration entry stamp.
On Friday, Pol Col Chinnakorn Asavapoom, superintendent of Tak Immigration, said officers were conducting tight checks on foreigners entering and leaving Mae Sot.
A Kenyan man arrived at Mae Sot International Airport planning to travel to Bangkok, then connect to a flight to Kenya. He was identified as MBUVI MAXWELL MUTISO, a 34-year-old Kenyan citizen. When officers examined his passport, they discovered a counterfeit immigration stamp and began a detailed check.
Fake Entry Stamp
According to Immigration police, his passport showed an entry stamp with code L0009, supposedly from the Su-ngai Kolok Immigration Checkpoint under Narathiwat Immigration. When Tak officers verified the stamp with Narathiwat Immigration, they were told that this stamp code had not been issued for official use.
The same L0009 entry stamp had been identified as a forged device in a prior arrest in Songkhla on October 10th, 2025. Following that case, Songkhla Immigration warned border units to watch for high-risk foreigners using this fake entry stamp.
During questioning, the Kenyan man admitted he was part of a scam gang ring and had entered Thailand illegally after the KK Park crackdown. He said he came to Mae Sot Airport to fly to Bangkok, but was intercepted at the passenger screening point.
Immigration then checked the travel history in the Immigration Bureau database and ran a biometrics scan. Records showed the suspect had already departed Thailand on March 22, 2025, during a previous deportation operation.. He had been sent back to Kenya and later returned to the region to resume scamming work.
According to the Immigration inquiry, he left Kenya on August 13, 2025, for Malaysia, arriving on August 14, 2025. A smuggling group then brought him into Thailand illegally. He allegedly handed his passport to an unidentified Thai man to obtain a forged immigration stamp for travel inside Thailand.
After retrieving the passport, he exited Malaysia and entered Narathiwat province, then travelled by road to Tak. He slipped out of Thailand through an informal crossing to work for a Chinese scam gang in Myawaddy, Myanmar, for about one month.
KK-Park Crackdown
When the Myanmar Junta authorities began a crackdown and allowed workers to leave KK-Park, he decided to return to Kenya. He crossed back into Thailand via a natural crossing and booked a flight from Mae Sot to Bangkok.
Immigration Police have charged him with two offences: being a foreigner who entered and stayed in Thailand without permission, and using a forged official stamp. The suspect acknowledged the charges and confessed.
Arresting officers transferred him to Pol Lt Col Boonlert Tipsribut, investigator at Mae Sot Police Station, for legal proceedings.
On October 21, 2025, Myanmar’s military junta staged a high-profile raid on KK Park, saying they had taken control of the site and seized 30 Starlink terminals amid U.S. probes into their role in scams.
Backed by pro-junta militias, the assault featured heavy gunfire and blasts that levelled buildings, with smoke visible from Thailand. Officials said more than 2,000 captives were released.
Critics disputed the narrative. The Irrawaddy called it a media stunt, saying senior Chinese operators were warned and evacuated, while nearby scam operations carried on and low-level workers took the hit. Panic spread fast.
Thousands fled the compound. Roughly 1,500 to 1,600 people crossed the Moei River into Thailand by boat, by swimming, or over the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, with some drowning in the strong current.
