Thai border force nabs 5 Chinese sneaking from Myanmar scam hub

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025

Group caught crossing river from Myawaddy, which is under international spotlight for human trafficking

Five Chinese nationals were arrested while making an illegal crossing from Myanmar’s Myawaddy city to Thailand’s Tak province on Thursday.

A border patrol from the Ratchamanu Taskforce discovered the group as they were crossing the Moei River to Mae Sot district at 8.30pm. The five men – named as Huang Wen (29), Song Hong (22), Li Jie (21), Li Hong (28) and Yang Xoing (34) – were not carrying passports.  They told Thai authorities through an interpreter that they had been working in Myawaddy and wanted to return to their home country. Soldiers escorted them for interrogation at the Tak Immigration office in the presence of Chinese embassy staff.

Thai border force nabs 5 Chinese sneaking from Myanmar scam hub

Myawaddy is notorious as a hub of Chinese-run casinos and telecom scams that have trafficked people from China and neighbouring countries as forced labour. It made headlines in early January when Chinese actor Wang Xing was trafficked to the city via Thailand and detained in a scam compound. News of his kidnapping and rescue triggered an online petition in China listing over 1,500 Chinese citizens suspected of being trafficked and detained by the Myanmar border scams.

Amid a wave of Thai travel cancellations in China, PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra delivered an AI-generated speech in Mandarin to assure Chinese visitors they would be safe in Thailand.