Two Online Gambling Admins Arrested Sneaking Back Into Thailand
Two former online gambling administrators were arrested sneaking back into Thailand from Cambodia through Chanthaburi's border after fleeing a crackdown on illegal gambling operations in Poipet.
On July 15, a naval task force unit in Chanthaburi and military ranger patrol team 541 conducted surveillance operations in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi province. Officers spotted three suspicious individuals—two men and one woman—carrying bags and walking through a local longan orchard near Pong Nam Ron canal, prompting an inspection.
One suspect, 36-year-old Nophrat, confessed to being a guide hired by a Cambodian broker to help two Thai nationals illegally cross the border through a natural waterway in the Pong Nam Ron canal area. He was to receive 1,000 baht per person.
The other two detainees, 28-year-old Theerawat and 31-year-old Inchuar, admitted they had been working as administrators managing an online gambling website in Poipet, Cambodia, since early January, earning 13,000–15,000 baht monthly. They paid 6,000 baht each to the smuggler to return to Thailand because Cambodia has intensified its crackdown on scammers and illegal gambling operations, and they were alarmed by rumors of escalating border conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia. All three were referred to Pong Nam Ron police station for legal proceedings.
