Three Thai nationals were apprehended after climbing over a wall behind Rong Kluea Market to enter Thailand illegally. Two of the people confessed to working at an online gambling site in Poipet, while the third operated a restaurant.
Colonel Chainarong Kasi, commander of the Special Task Force Aranyaprathet under the Burapha Forces, today, July 15, directed Ranger Company 1201 to patrol the vulnerable border area near the second-hand goods market in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province.
During their patrol, they spotted the three suspects, one man and two women, climbing the market wall from Cambodia into Thailand at Ban Khlong Luek.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that all three were Thai citizens without passports. They admitted to illegally returning from Poipet, Cambodia. Two of them confessed to working as administrators for an online gambling site named UFA168, while the third person ran a food business.
The suspects further stated that due to changes in the operating hours of the Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint and increased security measures by Cambodian officials, they felt unsafe and decided to return to Thailand illegally.
They paid a Cambodian woman 5,000 baht (US$155) each to facilitate their crossing into Thailand. However, they were captured by the rangers before succeeding, reported KhaoSod.
Ranger Company 1201 handed over the suspects to Khlong Luek Police Station for legal proceedings.
In similar news, ten Thai construction workers were arrested near the Thai-Cambodian border on July 2 while trying to return home after being exploited by employers in Cambodia.
The arrests took place near the permanent checkpoint at Ban Khlong Luek in Sa Kaeo province. Officers from the Burapha Task Force and the Aranyaprathet Special Task Force intercepted the group as they attempted to climb over the roof of a private car park building.
According to their statements, the workers had been recruited through Facebook with promises of construction jobs in Phnom Penh, offering a daily wage of 300 baht (US$9). However, after working for a month, they received no payment, had their ID cards confiscated, and were eventually abandoned in Poipet
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