Thai authorities have discovered and severed illegal internet cables running from Thailand’s Mukdahan Province across the Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge into Laos, Thai media reported.
Police suspects these cables were supporting scam operations, giving the impression that scammers were based in Thailand while they operated from Laos.
Nathathorn Prousoontorn, Thailand’s commissioner of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), announced that the illegal link was detected on 19 October. The cables stretched about five kilometers into Laos’ Savannakhet Province, serving a business district and potentially providing internet access to up to 10,000 users.
The commissioner explained that the telecommunications company responsible for the cables had been licensed to operate only within Thailand. However, their network was illegally extended across the border, enabling scam call centers to masquerade as Thai-based businesses.
Thailand’s Assistant national police chief Thatchai Pitaneelaboot noted that while illegal cables have been discovered along natural borders and rivers, this was the first instance of cables being installed on an international bridge.
Authorities are now investigating the telecommunications company involved and are considering legal action against those responsible for the illegal installation.
