Thai police have arrested seven Chinese nationals and two Thai drivers in Chonburi after intercepting vehicles allegedly carrying the group towards a scam compound in Myanmar's Karen State.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and Highway Police Division stopped the two cars on Highway 344, at kilometre marker 2 on the Bangkok-bound side, in Ban Suan subdistrict of Mueang Chonburi district.
Police seized two vehicles, 14 mobile phones and four damaged passports. The seven Chinese nationals were charged with entering and remaining in Thailand without permission, while the drivers face charges of jointly assisting, harbouring or otherwise helping foreign nationals who entered illegally to evade arrest.
Highway patrol operation led to arrests
The arrests followed surveillance by Chonburi highway police under Operation Ghost Driver, an operation targeting vehicles suspected of involvement in illegal cross-border transport.
Officers identified a Toyota Corolla driven by a Thai man identified only as Mr O, and a Toyota Wish driven by another Thai man identified only as Mr W.
A search found seven Chinese nationals inside the vehicles who could not produce valid passports or other identification documents.
According to police, the two drivers admitted they had been hired to collect the group in Makham district, Chanthaburi, and take them to Bangkok. Each driver was allegedly promised 10,000 baht.
Group says it crossed border on foot
Investigators said the Chinese nationals told them they had travelled from Vietnam through Cambodia before entering Thailand on foot via an unofficial natural border crossing in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi.
Their intended destination was Karen State in Myanmar, where police said they allegedly planned to work at a scam operation. Further checks found that one of the seven was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by Chinese authorities in connection with a telecommunications fraud case.
All nine suspects admitted the allegations, police said. They were transferred to investigators at Mueang Chonburi Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Picture courtesy of The Nation
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1 September 2026
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