Three Cambodians Caught Crossing Border Illegally into Thailand
Three Cambodian nationals were arrested near Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo province after illegally crossing into Thailand through a natural border passage on August 3, lured by job offers at a factory with promised monthly wages of 9,000 baht.
On August 3, 2025, officers from the Eastern Command and the Aranyaprathet Task Force, including troops from the 12th Royal Forest Department Control Unit and the 2nd Information Operations Team, conducted a patrol to prevent illegal border crossings in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province. During their patrol near Ban Pa Rai Mai village, officials spotted a group moving suspiciously through a natural passage and detained three Cambodian nationals—two men and one woman—who had no passports or legal entry documents.
During interrogation, the detainees revealed they were friends from Phnom Penh who had been recruited by an unknown Cambodian acquaintance to work sewing bags at a salt market factory. They were offered 9,000 baht per month with a Thai employer covering the 6,500-baht border crossing cost, payable upon arrival in Thailand. The three hired a tuk-tuk to take them to the border, where two unnamed Cambodian guides smuggled them across through a natural pathway.
However, as the group crossed Highway 3446, border patrol officers spotted and apprehended all three. The two Cambodian smugglers saw the officials approaching and fled back into Cambodia. The three detainees have been handed over to Khlong Luek police station for legal proceedings, while authorities continue investigating those involved in recruiting and trafficking workers across the border.
