Three Lao Nationals Among Four Arrested at Nong Khai Agarwood Site

This Week

On 20 May, Thai authorities arrested three Lao nationals and one Vietnamese national for working without valid permits at an agarwood processing site in Nong Khai Province, a border province directly across from Vientiane.

According to local media, Nong Khai Immigration Police raided row houses in Khai Bok Wan subdistrict following tip-offs about illegal agarwood processing involving foreign laborers. They found the four workers sorting, processing, and packing agarwood into plastic bags for export to Laos.

The three Lao nationals, Yoth Mongkansa, Peun, and Dido Xayyalath, all aged 17,  had entered Thailand via the 1st Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge a day earlier. Vietnamese national Phan Van Hieu, 31, had crossed at the same entry point on 21 April. 

None held valid Thai work permits. The Lao workers stated they were paid THB 400 (approximately USD 12.20) per day.

Phan Van Hieu told police that the employers, identified as Vietnamese and Lao investors, had provided separate living quarters adjacent to the worksite, but were absent during the raid, having reportedly returned to Laos days earlier.

All four face charges of working without valid work permits and are being processed at Nong Khai Police Station. 

Authorities are separately pursuing the employers for knowingly hiring foreign workers without permits.

The building’s owner, identified as Somsuk, told police he had rented the property from 2 April at THB 12,000 (USD 367) per month, under the understanding the tenants would use it as a warehouse for three months.

Authorities seized a large quantity of agarwood and chemical containers, while investigations into their origin, ownership, and those responsible remain ongoing.

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