Thai police crackdown on human smuggling network (2025)

Police announced the arrest of a network smuggling Chinese and foreign nationals through Thailand to third countries. Meanwhile, the Immigration Bureau confirmed that an engineer at a construction project holds a valid temporary work visa, not a student visa as previously reported.

Yesterday, April 29, at the Royal Thai Police headquarters, Police Lieutenant General Itthipol Ittisarnronnachai, an assistant to the national police chief, along with Police Major General Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commander of the Immigration Bureau, and Police Major General Parnop Worathanatchakul, commander of the Immigration Bureau’s Investigation Division, briefed the media on the second phase of their operation against human smuggling networks.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Itthipol stated that the Centre for Suppression of Transnational Crime and Illegal Immigration of the Royal Thai Police had assigned the Immigration Bureau to gather and analyse data from previous arrests related to illegal immigration to expand their investigation and apprehend other involved parties.

Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana explained that their analysis of arrests from October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, covering 184 cases linked to 22 networks, led to the second phase of this operation. In collaboration with other police divisions from April 22 to April 26, they sought 34 warrants for 32 suspects, searched 60 locations, arrested 25 suspects with 27 warrants, while one suspect died and six remain at large.

The initial phase focused on smuggling Myanmar nationals from the west of Thailand through Tak province. Five key networks were apprehended, notably the Bangal Chumphon network, linked with all five networks, which transported people to work in Bangkok, surrounding areas, and further south to Malaysia. Police arrested 56 suspects from these networks, issued 33 warrants, and detained 260 illegal immigrants while seizing 15 items.

When asked about expanding the investigation to Chinese financiers behind the smuggling of Chinese nationals into Thailand, Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana noted that in Tak province, a network led by Sutivas “Was” Wangchao was uncovered. Some Chinese nationals were smuggled into Cambodia or Laos.

Human smuggling

Links were also found to a key broker, Wongsakorn from Phayao province, who smuggled Chinese through Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, Nan, and Tak. Financial transactions revealed Wongsakorn’s account had over 2 billion baht (US$60 million) in circulation. He faces charges of involvement in a transnational crime organisation, and financial investigations have been forwarded to the Anti-Money Laundering Office for asset seizure.

Regarding the Chinese student visa issue, Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana clarified that the Immigration Bureau, working with the Department of Special Investigation, confirmed the engineer at the construction project holds a temporary work visa, not a student visa, which remains valid.

Pol. Maj. Gen. Parnop added that investigations have extended to networks illegally smuggling workers from neighbouring countries into Kanchanaburi, Chiang Rai, and Sa Kaeo provinces. These networks include workers from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and China, among others.

Altogether, 22 networks and 184 cases have resulted in legal action against 193 people, with 2,641 illegal immigrants apprehended, including 1,979 Myanmar nationals, 270 Muslim Myanmar nationals, 175 Chinese, 96 Bangladeshis, 92 Cambodians, nine Laotians, nine Afghans, 41 Vietnamese, three Taiwanese, two Indonesians, one Filipino, and one Malaysian, reported KhaoSod.

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