CHIANG RAI –Tourist Police have arrested five Chinese Nationals at a hotel in Rob Wiang subdistrict of Chiang Rai who were hiding out until they could be transported across the border into the Lao PDR by members of their scam gang.
Their arrival in Chiang Rai comes after ongoing joint operations by Myanmar forces and the Karen BGF targeting scam hubs at KK-Park and Shwe Kokko have pushed large numbers of Chinese scammers to flee across the border into Thailand through Mae Sot.
Pol Maj Gen Olan Iamprapas, Commander of Tourist Police, told reporters they detained five Chinese men. Those arrested were Mr Zhang Yong Lin, aged 30, Mr Long Bang Min, 29, and Mr Zhang Yong Guan, 28, all from Guizhou province, China, along with Mr Wu Gui Xin, 25, and Mr Lu Yu Zhou, 28, both from Henan province, China. They have been charged with being foreign nationals who entered and stayed in the Kingdom without permission.
Pol Maj Gen Olan said that on Monday at around 10 pm, officers received a report that a group of foreigners had checked into a hotel on Sanam Bin Kao Road in Rob Wiang subdistrict, Muang Chiang Rai district. A team went to inspect the area and found the five Chinese nationals sitting and eating beside the hotel. Once they finished their meal, they went back inside.
The police officers followed them in and checked the rooms, finding the group staying in rooms 4 and 5. When asked to show identification, none of them could present any documents.
They then admitted that they had illegally crossed the border from Myawaddy province in Myanmar, where scam gangs are currently under heavy crackdown. From there, they entered Thailand through natural border routes into the Mae Sot district in Tak province, then travelled on to Chiang Rai, where they planned to cross into the Lao PDR.
The Tourists Police informed the men of the charges and took them to Muang Chiang Rai Police Station for further legal action.
According to reports, after the recent heavy attacks on KK Park and Shwe Kokko, known scam centres in Myawaddy, large groups of foreign workers, especially Chinese nationals, have been fleeing into Thailand.
Most are trying to move on to the Lao PDR, heading for the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Ton Pheung district, Bokeo province, which lies opposite Chiang Saen district in Chiang Rai.
However, authorities in that zone are also cracking down on online scam operations. Officers believe many Chinese nationals are using the area only as a short stop, then escaping deeper into the central parts of the Lao PDR, which is now turning into a new hiding place for Chinese criminal networks.
