CHIANG RAI – On Monday, Governor Chucheep Pongchai met with officers from the Online Fraud Suppression Operations Center under the Anti-Human Trafficking Division (ATHTD), along with local security agencies, to review the latest tech crime situation along the Thailand, Myanmar, Laos border.
Officials said they are now seeing scammer and call center networks shifting closer to Chiang Rai’s border areas. On the Myanmar side, Tachileik was described as a hub with casinos and entertainment venues, and a major base for call center gangs.
Reports also pointed to forced labor and cases where people were tricked into crossing the border for “jobs.” Those who resisted could face assault or detention. On the Laos side, the Kings Roman Special Economic Zone was described as a hiding place for scammers. A recent crackdown there led to more than 771 suspects arrested, including people from Laos, Myanmar, China, and the Philippines.
Transborder News reported that between October 2025 and January 2026, Chiang Rai Provincial Police made several key arrests tied to cross-border cybercrime. One case involved the arrest of Mr. Hu Haojie, with more than 2,052 ATM cards seized.
Police said he admitted his role was withdrawing and transferring money under instructions sent through the Lark app, a pattern linked to organized tech crime. Another case involved intercepting shipments of bank passbooks and SIM cards sent through a private delivery company, allegedly headed across the border to support scam groups in Laos.
Police also reported arresting more than 288 foreign workers for related offenses, mostly from Myanmar, China, and Laos, in cases tied to transnational crime.
The Chiang Rai governor also issued a warning to the public. People were told not to believe offers of high-paying work across the border, and not to open mule accounts or hand over ATM cards to anyone. Authorities said these actions can pull ordinary people into global crime networks without them realizing it.
Reporters added that in early February, a heavy crackdown on call center gangs in the Kings Roman area pushed many Chinese criminal groups and human trafficking networks to scatter and hide around the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.
Some were also reported to have crossed over and hidden in Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai. The operation was said to be overseen in person by Liu Zhongyi, China’s assistant minister of public security, who also traveled into the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone for talks with Lao officials.
