March 7Mar 7 Immigration police in Chiang Rai have arrested 11 Chinese nationals and two stateless individuals after discovering them hiding in a rented house near the Mae Sai border, seizing 45 mobile phones and a newly registered pickup truck believed to be linked to illegal activity.Get today's headlines by email The arrests were made on 7 March 2026 after officers from Chiang Rai Immigration received intelligence that a group of foreign nationals had illegally entered Thailand and were staying at a property in Village 4, Wiang Phang Kham subdistrict, Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province. Officers entered the house and found 11 Chinese men sleeping inside.Those named by authorities, included Fu Guay, 36, Ta Yi, 32, Zhao Defa, 31, Sihbo Tian, 31, A Pan, 30, Bai Qi, 28, and Shao Wen, 18. When asked to present immigration documents, none could do so and they admitted to authorities that they had illegally crossed the border into Mae Sai on 5 March 2026. They were charged with entering and remaining in the Kingdom without permission.Investigators also found three other Chinese nationals whose visas had expired. Hong Jin Qiu, 22, had entered Thailand through Suvarnabhumi Airport on 6 December 2025 and was permitted to stay until 3 February 2026, making him an overstayer by 31 days.Xiaobo Liu, 36, entered through Chiang Saen immigration on 17 May 2024 with permission to stay until 15 June 2024, meaning he had overstayed by more than 629 days. Songlei Dong, 32, arrived through Suvarnabhumi Airport on 27 May 2024 and was allowed to remain until 25 June 2024, resulting in an overstay of more than 619 days. All three were charged with remaining in the Kingdom after their permitted stay had expired.During the search of the property, officers seized 45 mobile phones believed to have been used in criminal activities, along with a red-plate Toyota Revo pickup truck parked outside the house.Authorities also detained Chai, 49, a stateless man living in Mae Sai district who admitted he had been hired to drive the Chinese group to Mueang Chiang Rai district for a fee of 2,500 baht per trip. He told officers he had previously transported similar groups twice.Another man, Ton, 44, who holds the same type of stateless identification card, admitted he had been hired to look after the rented house in exchange for 500 baht per day.Naewna reported that both men were charged with harbouring or assisting foreign nationals who had entered Thailand illegally in order to help them evade arrest. All suspects and the seized evidence were handed over to investigators for further legal proceedings.Pictures courtesy of NaewnaRelated storiesJoin the discussion? Already a member? Adapted by ASEAN Now Naewna 8 Mar 2026 View full record
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