Immigration police in Nong Khai have arrested two Chinese men who allegedly crossed illegally from Laos by boat, along with a Thai woman accused of collecting and hiding them at her home. The arrests took place on the evening of 5 September 2026 in Phon Phisai district, Nong Khai, after officers monitoring the Mekong spotted a long-tail boat travelling from the Lao bank towards Thailand. The case was announced on 6 September by Pol Lt Col Theeranat Rangsiphramanakul, deputy superintendent of Nong Khai Immigration under Immigration Division 4. The operation involved immigration investigators, ranger troops and local administrative officers. It was overseen by Immigration Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Phanumart Boonyalak, his deputies Pol Maj Gen Pattana Nuchnarot, Pol Maj Gen Thanit Thaiwatcharamas and Pol Maj Gen Nattakorn Praphayon, and Immigration Division 4 commander Pol Maj Gen Phairat Phukcharoen and his deputies Pol Col Kritsakorn Klinkasorn and Pol Col Manuwat Kosanan. Officers followed men into a house Using binoculars, officers said they saw two passengers aboard the boat as it approached a pier near Ban Daen Muang, Soi 5, Moo 3, Wat Luang subdistrict. A 42-year-old Thai woman, identified only as Suwanna, was waiting by the riverbank. Police said she signalled for the two men to leave the boat, then led them towards her nearby house after spotting officers moving in. The men allegedly ran into the property and hid in the bathroom. Officers said Suwanna allowed them to search the house, where the two Chinese nationals were found without identity documents. No illegal items were found during the initial search. Suwanna told investigators that a Thai man known only as Boy had contacted her through Line at about 11am that day. She said he offered her 10,000 baht to collect the two men and take them to the Caltex petrol station at Ban Phu Kratae, Wat Luang, on the Nong Khai-Phon Phisai road. One man claims gold-smuggling job One of the men, 35-year-old Chinese national Lin Zhao Shi, told police he had accepted an offer from another Chinese man to transport gold from Laos to China. He said payment would depend on the amount carried, at about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per trip. Lin said he entered Laos illegally from the China-Laos border in August 2026, before meeting the second suspect, 34-year-old Shen Xinxin, at a bar in Vientiane. He said he was later instructed to cross into Thailand, where a vehicle was supposed to collect him. Police said Lin was also carrying a Taiwanese passport. He claimed he had paid 1,000 yuan as a deposit and a further 3,000 yuan to obtain it after responding to a Chinese-language roadside advertisement in Laos. Charges and next steps Suwanna was charged with bringing foreign nationals into Thailand illegally and providing shelter or assistance to help them avoid arrest. Lin was charged with illegal entry and using or possessing a forged passport under Section 269/8. Shen was charged with illegal entry. All three were handed to investigators at Phon Phisai Police Station for legal proceedings. Picture courtesy of Thaitabloid Join the discussion? 7 September 2026
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