Operation “Dragon Scale Removal” was launched to crack down on the “Fake Thai Fathers” network, resulting in the arrest of hospital and district officials hired to falsify birth registrations for foreigners to obtain Thai nationality.
On 9 July 2026, Pol. Gen. Samran Nuanma, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, along with Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin Poolsawat, Chief of the Police Office under the Royal Thai Police, led Metropolitan Police forces and Mr. Vitun Sirinukul, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), together with representatives from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NICE), the Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), to launch Operation “Dragon Scale Removal.” This targeted the “Fake Thai Fathers” scheme involving hired false birth registrations for foreigners, in collaboration with hospital and district officials. The network used Thai nationals (“fake fathers”) to register foreign-born children as Thai by blood and birthright, granting them all rights and benefits in society, education, ownership of movable and immovable property, thereby impacting national security.
The court issued 40 arrest warrants and 42 search warrants, covering one hospital official named Ms. Sunee, one district official named Ms. Siriporn, 17 individuals acting as “Fake Thai Fathers,” and 16 foreign mothers.
Pol. Gen. Samran stated that following the arrest of Mr. Chen Yinlai, a Chinese national involved in a scam using Thailand as a base for money laundering exceeding 70 billion baht in April 2024, investigations uncovered money transfers through numerous mule accounts to Ms. Paojiao Chen, the Chinese wife of Mr. Chen Yinlai.
Ms. Paojiao Chen has three children, all holding Thai nationality. The Department of Provincial Administration, together with the Royal Thai Police, conducted in-depth investigations revealing that Thai men were hired to register marriages with Ms. Paojiao Chen to become the legal fathers of the children. The births and registrations involved purchasing packages from a private hospital in Bangkok and district officials facilitating the registration of births to unlawfully grant Thai nationality to the children.
Investigations found that a private hospital staff member named Ms. Sunee acted as an intermediary contacting Chinese clients to secure Thai nationality for their children by arranging births at a well-known private hospital in Thonburi. The hospital delivery package cost 70,000 baht per birth, with Ms. Sunee charging about 20,000 baht for handling documents certifying births and parental information for registration. Thai nationals were used to register marriages or act as fathers, with fees ranging from 2,000 to 15,000 baht. Ms. Siriporn, a district office official, is believed to have been complicit in Ms. Sunee’s operations.
Initial database checks by the Department of Provincial Administration found 62 false birth registration cases involving foreign mothers and Thai fathers orchestrated by the two aforementioned individuals, including at least 19 birth certificates issued. All suspects have been handed over to investigators for prosecution under the law, with plans to extend investigations to other accomplices in the criminal network.
Pol. Gen. Samran added that this operation represents cooperation between the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Provincial Administration aimed at eradicating all forms of transnational crime, including fraudulent marriage registrations and corruption of the civil registry system to unlawfully register births and grant Thai nationality to children.
Currently, the Department of Provincial Administration has ordered the relevant registrars to revoke all fraudulent registrations and cancel the Thai nationality of all children born to these Chinese parents. The information has been forwarded to the Immigration Bureau to consider deporting the foreign offenders in accordance with immigration law. Additionally, committees will be established to investigate implicated state officials for disciplinary and criminal proceedings.