Police Bust Chiang Rai Ring Selling Fake Thai IDs

Chiang Rai network sold Thai ID cards to foreignersLegacyThe Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) has exposed four cases of household registration fraud in Chiang Rai, including two Chinese men wanted on INTERPOL red notices who obtained Thai identity documents. The cases are part of Operation Northern Shadow, which targets transnational criminal networks that exploit loopholes in Thailand’s civil registration system. Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit presided over the briefing at Wang Thonglang Police Station in Bangkok at 11am on 9 October 2026. Worasit said the investigation is widening to three groups: people who fraudulently took over registration rights, brokers who arranged the records, and officials who may have been involved. Photo courtesy of Department of Provincial Administration Case 1: DNA test exposes ‘phantom father’ On 2 August 2026, Immigration officers at Don Mueang Airport stopped a 12 year old boy about to fly to China with his Chinese mother and a man identified as Mr O. The documents did not include consent from the father named on the birth certificate. A DNA test showed the boy’s parents were a Chinese man identified as Yi Long and the mother, casting doubt on the father listed on the birth certificate. Investigators found a Thai man had been brought in to falsely certify the birth. Mr O obtained Thai citizenship in 1989 through a name addition at Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai, although neither of his parents was Thai. He is accused of illegally brokering ID cards starting with 0, 6 and 8 for foreigners. DOPA instructed Wiang Kaen district to file a complaint against Yi Long on 2 October. On 6 October, Bueng Kum district officials filed complaints against the mother and the alleged ‘phantom father’. Three arrest warrants have been issued, and similar birth records have been frozen and are being cancelled. Photo courtesy of Department of Provincial Administration Case 2: Cash seizure leads to temple screening On 23 June 2026, Mae Sai customs seized more than 23 million baht (US$708,000) hidden in cardboard boxes in a car. The Myanmar man carrying it, identified as Mr T, was trying to take the cash out of the country without declaring it. He was found to be listed in a Mae Sai temple house registration, dated 4 April 2016, as a person with no registration status, despite holding a Myanmar passport. DOPA and Chiang Rai Immigration screened the temple’s 26 monks and 3 temple boys. They found 19 foreign monks, of whom 8 had overstayed and 11 had entered illegally. The abbot has been charged over unlawfully housing foreigners and conduct that may have helped enable illegal registrations. Photo courtesy of Department of Provincial Administration Case 3: Fugitive wanted over 15 billion baht The Crime Suppression Division arrested 43 year old Chinese national Mr L and 30 year old Myanmar national Ms A on warrants for fraud, forging official documents and supporting the forgery of ID cards. Mr L is the subject of an INTERPOL red notice from China over a fraud case worth about 15 billion baht (US$462 million), with more than 3,000 victims. He was using an ID card issued to a person with no registration status, under a Mae Sai house registration dated 11 April 2022. He reportedly paid a Thai broker 60,000 baht (US$1,846) for it. Eight other people were added to the same registration, but the house owner confirmed none had lived there. DOPA filed complaints on 7 October and identified 7 more foreigners moved into the registration. In total, 14 arrest warrants have been issued. Chiang Rai province will cancel the fraudulent records and begin deportation screening. Photo courtesy of Department of Provincial Administration Case 4: Second fugitive posed as hill union child A second Chinese man, identified as Mr K, obtained a Thai ID card at Wiang Kaen district on 12 February 2015 by claiming to be the child of a Lisu hill union member. He later changed his name and address at Lam Luk Ka district in Pathum Thani. Checks with Chinese officials confirmed he is wanted on an INTERPOL red notice over suspected illegal deposit-taking. Wiang Kaen district has cancelled the fraudulent records, and Lam Luk Ka district revoked his address transfer and latest ID card, issued in 2019. On 7 October, DOPA instructed Lam Luk Ka district to file a complaint over giving false information and concealing facts to obtain an ID card. Government warns of equal enforcement Worasit said Thailand welcomes foreigners who enter legally, but anyone of any nationality who exploits the registration system will face strict, equal enforcement. The story Chiang Rai network sold Thai ID cards to foreigners as seen on Thaiger News.