Thai border authorities arrested three foreign nationals after they illegally crossed from Cambodia into Thailand attempting to smuggle around 1,000 mobile SIM cards to Myanmar on 9 November.
According to Thai media, the suspects, a Chinese national, an American, and an Indian were apprehended at a border crossing near Non Khilek village in Aranyaprathet district.
Following their arrest, officers detained the three men for questioning and discovered they had crossed the border on foot from Poipet, Cambodia, without any travel documents. A search of the Chinese suspect’s luggage revealed 1,000 SIM cards believed to be linked to an international call-center scam network.
The Chinese man admitted to smuggling them from Poipet, saying the cards were transported for a Chinese boss in Myawaddy, Myanmar, a known hub for scam operations.
Meanwhile, the American suspect claimed that he was trying to reach Bangkok to contact the U.S. Embassy regarding his pension payments, suggesting a personal administrative reason for the trip. The Indian suspect said he intended to purchase goods in Bangkok before returning home.
However, both men admitted that, rather than entering through legal channels, they had paid smugglers to help them cross the border illegally from Cambodia into Thailand.
The three men, along with the seized SIM cards, were handed over to Khlong Nam Sai police for legal action.
Although the investigation is still ongoing, authorities believe the Chinese suspect is part of a transnational cybercrime network that uses Thailand as a transit point for scam-related communication tools, including fake call centers.
