CHIANG RAI -Immigration police officers in Chiang Saen arrested seven foreign nationals from China and Rwanda while they were walking along the Mekong River, preparing to cross into Laos. None of them had valid travel or immigration documents.
From questioning, officers learned that all seven had used brokers to move between China, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, paying tens of thousands of yuan each for the journey.
On Friday, police officers from the Chiang Saen Immigration Checkpoint in Chiang Rai, responsible for the Thai–Lao border in this area, stepped up patrols to stop illegal entry and exit from the country.
This followed when they found a group of seven foreign men, aged between 20 and 46, walking on a public road next to the Mekong River near Ban San Ton Pao, Moo 1, Mae Ngoen subdistrict, Chiang Saen district.
When officers checked them, they discovered that six were Chinese nationals and one was from Rwanda. None of them could show lawful entry documents. Officers arrested them and charged them with: “Foreign nationals entering and staying in the Kingdom without permission under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522.”
Their statements did not fully match, but all admitted they were about to leave Thailand illegally. The Chinese nationals came from several provinces, including Guangxi, Guizhou, Fujian, Henan, and Jiangxi.
Mr Chen Yiping, aged 20, from Jiangxi province, said he had left China by passing through Laos, then entered Thailand via a natural border crossing in July 2025. Before his arrest, he was trying to return home.
He said he asked a friend to contact a guide and agreed to pay 300,000 baht for the trip, but he was caught before he could leave Thai territory.
Mr Liu Yuanhong, aged 46, from Guangxi, told officers that in July this year, he wanted to work in Laos. He contacted a recruitment company and paid 1,800 yuan to arrange his travel.
After working in Laos for some time, he decided he wanted to move to Thailand to work, so his employer helped him enter Thailand. When he later planned to go back to China via Laos, he paid a broker 40,000 yuan to organise the journey, but was arrested before crossing the border.
Another man from Guangxi, Mr Wen Zhiquan, aged 35, said he had left China in December 2023 to work in Laos. In November 2025, he travelled to Thailand to visit his girlfriend and paid 13,000 yuan for that trip. He then planned to return to his job in Laos and was ready to pay 15,000 yuan for the return journey, but Thai officers detained him first.
Mr Jing Yuan, aged 30, from Guizhou province, said he entered Thailand in October 2024 using a Chinese job-search application. He travelled illegally through Vietnam, then crossed into Thailand at a natural border point. Later, he became ill and decided to go back to China.
His employer agreed to cover all his travel costs, but he was arrested by Thai officers before he could leave.
Mr Xiaowei, aged 31, from Fujian province, said a friend persuaded him in April 2025 to go and work in Myanmar. After several months, he wanted to return to China. He paid a guide 50,000 yuan to take him back via Thailand, but was caught by officers before the journey could be completed. Immigration police gave no information on the man from Rwanda.
