Chiang Rai Police Arrest Two Thais Sheltering Six Chinese
Chiang Rai immigration police arrested two Thai nationals for sheltering six Chinese migrants who had entered Thailand illegally from Laos. The migrants had crossed the Mekong River near Chiang Saen and were staying in a rented house in Mae Sai district while awaiting transport further into the country. The Thais face charges of harbouring illegal immigrants, and the Chinese are being held for illegal entry.
On 15 October 2026, Chiang Rai immigration police investigated a smuggling network after learning that Chinese nationals had been picked up from the Thailand-Laos border along the Mekong River in Chiang Saen district and taken to a house in Ban Pa Fa village, Moo 3, Pong Pha subdistrict, Mae Sai district, to await further travel into Thailand. Officers raided the house and found two Thai suspects, identified as 43-year-old Su and 54-year-old Phorn, together with six Chinese nationals aged 15 to 36: Zhu Mo Long (33), Li Huo (24), Luo Wang (36), Su Xiang Guan (35), Wei Mei Ting (21) and a 15-year-old juvenile. Through an interpreter, the Chinese said they had left the Kings Romans special economic zone in Ban Ton Pheung, Bokeo Province, Laos, crossed the Mekong by boat at an unchecked crossing in Chiang Saen, and were brought to the house to wait for onward movement. Su and Phorn told police they had rented the house for 5,000 baht per month since 24 September 2026 at the request of a man known only as Ton, who paid them 200 baht each to provide food and water for the migrants before another person arrived to take them away. Initially, police charged the two Thais with jointly concealing or assisting undocumented migrants to evade arrest. The six Chinese were charged with illegal entry and remained in custody pending further investigation.
