Four Chinese men held in Nong Khai scam probe

Four Chinese men aged 22 to 26 have been detained in Nong Khai after Thai authorities found laptops, mobile phones and internet signal equipment in a car stopped in Tha Bo district on 18 August.

Investigators believe the group may have been moving a scam-operation base after reportedly fleeing a crackdown in Vientiane, Laos, with plans to travel through Thailand before continuing to Myanmar.

Car stopped in Tha Bo

The Honda City, carrying Nan registration plate, was intercepted at the Nong Song Hong intersection in Tha Bo district, Nong Khai province.

The operation involved Nong Khai Immigration officers, provincial police investigators, Border Patrol Police and customs officials. Those named in the operation included Pol Lt Col Theeyaphat Rangsiphramankul, deputy superintendent of Nong Khai Immigration; Pol Lt Col Apichat Khontha, an immigration inspector; and Phattharaphong Tantiwatthanakuncha, head of Service Division 1 at Nong Khai Customs House.

Officers said the driver was Udom, 40, from Phrae province, whose surname was withheld. Four Chinese men were travelling as passengers.

Picture courtesy of Daily News

A search of the boot found seven backpacks with mud stains on the outside. Inside were computer equipment, laptops, internet signal transmitters and a large number of mobile phones, officials said.

All five men were taken to Nong Khai Immigration for questioning.

Driver describes Mekong crossing

Questioned through a Chinese interpreter, the four Chinese nationals reportedly claimed they did not know who owned the equipment.

Udom allegedly told investigators that he had collected the men from the Mekong riverbank in Phon Phisai district, Nong Khai. He said they had crossed the river from a neighbouring country in a small boat.

According to his statement, he was to take them to Phitsanulok, where another person would collect them and take them onwards to Myanmar. He said he had been paid 6,000 baht for each person transported.

Authorities said no passports or other travel documents were found.

Investigators said they suspected the men had escaped from a law-enforcement sweep in Vientiane and had kept their equipment connected to communications signals throughout the journey. They believe the group may have been relocating a scam network, using Thailand as a transit route to Myanmar.

Join the discussion?

20 August 2026

View full article