Bangkok Sweep Uncovers Four Illegal Foreign Workers

The Ministry of Commerce and law enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown in Din Daeng district targeting nominee businesses and found four foreign nationals illegally working and referred them for prosecution. Poonpong Nainapagarana, director-general of the Department of Business Development under the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that recently the Department's Nominee-Busting Team, in coordination with the Anti-Money Laundering and Drug Prevention Committee led by Pittakdet Dechdecho, and enforcement agencies including the Department of Employment, Immigration Bureau, Din Daeng District Office, Din Daeng Police Station, and the Food and Drug Administration, conducted an inspection in the target area to monitor business operations and foreign nationals' employment, as well as assess risks related to the use of Thai nationals as "cover nominees" for foreign business owners—a serious legal violation with serious economic security implications.

Poonpong stated that officers initially inspected a two-storey commercial building operating as a garment-sewing factory. Upon entry, foreign workers were found actively working throughout the premises. The Nominee-Busting Team found that while the business owner was Thai, the business was not formally registered as a legal entity. The Department of Employment and Immigration Bureau conducted thorough document checks on all workers.

Four individuals were apprehended in total: two Cambodian nationals whose work permits had expired since March 2567, and two Laotian nationals working illegally without work permits or valid visitor visas. Officers from the Department of Employment and Immigration Bureau took legal control of all four offenders and summoned the employer for questioning at the Din Daeng District Office. Evidence was collected before all suspects were handed to investigators for prosecution under immigration and foreign worker management laws.