Six Thai Online Gambling Admins Arrested After Fleeing Cambodia, Paid 7,500 Baht Each to Smuggle Through Jungle Back to Thailand
Six Thai nationals working as online gambling administrators in Cambodia were arrested after paying a smuggler 7,500 baht each to guide them illegally through the jungle back to Thailand following raids by Cambodian authorities.
On May 19, 2025, the Chanthaburi-Trat Border Protection Command, operating through special naval units based in Chanthaburi and the 543rd Naval Infantry Company stationed at Khlong Pong Nam Ron, conducted continuous foot patrols to intercept illegal activities following the "soldiers never stop" policy and strict border enforcement. While patrolling near Klong Tian canal along the Thai-Cambodian border in Baan Khlong Yai, Moo 4, Tambon Khlong Yai, Amphoe Khlong Pong Nam Ron, Chanthaburi Province, officers spotted a suspicious group of individuals showing signs of illegal border crossing. Their bodies were worn from trekking through dense thorny jungle. Upon inspection, all six individuals—five men and one woman—were Thai nationals.
Under preliminary questioning, all six admitted to having illegally crossed into Cambodia to work as administrators for a well-known online gambling website located in a building in Phsar Chas market area, Sangkat Stueng Kaach, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, earning 20,000-25,000 baht monthly. However, recent intensive raids by Cambodian authorities searching buildings and screening foreigners prompted the gambling page to shut down, forcing them to live in fear and hiding. Unable to endure the situation, they paid 7,500 baht per person to a smuggler who guided them through the jungle back to Thailand.
Initially, they were charged with illegal border crossing as Thai nationals not using official entry-exit channels under the Immigration Act of 1979, Sections 11 and 62. They were detained and transferred to investigators at Khlong Pong Nam Ron Police Station and coordinated with Chanthaburi Immigration for legal proceedings.
