Seven suspected Chinese scammers were apprehended in Chanthaburi province by Thai Marines after they had sneaked into Thailand from Cambodia through a natural border crossing on Thursday morning with dozens of cellphones and Cambodian SIM cards.
Rear Admiral Parach Rattanachaipan, spokesman for the Royal Thai Navy, said that, in one incident, a Thai Marine patrol spotted a man near the Cambodian border in Pong Nam Ron District at about 10pm on Thursday night and took them into custody.
The troops found 26 cellphones, 17 Cambodian SIM cards and a small amount of methamphetamine in the possession of the Chinese suspect.
In another incident, a separate Thai Marine patrol found six Chinese men, aged between 21 and 60, behaving suspiciously near the Cambodian border in Pong Nam Ron district at about 5am on Thursday morning.
All the suspects were searched. 59 cellphones, note pads detailing financial transactions and a conversation script for how to talk to and deceive their potential scam victims were found in their possession.
All seven are being detained at the district police station for questioning. Charges of illegal entry and violations of the cybercrime law are to be filed against them.
Rear Admiral Parach called on Cambodia to demonstrate sincerity by cooperating fully with Thailand in the suppression of online transnational scam operations on Cambodian territory.
