The Ministry of Interior Region 4, Police General Samran, Police Lieutenant General Nopasin, and DOPA NICE launched an operation "Suppressing the Danger in Chai Prakan" to combat the issuance of fake zero-status registration cards, arresting state officials, village chiefs, and community leaders involved in a migrant worker laundering network.
On 26 August 2026, Mr. Worasit Liangprasit, Deputy Minister of the Interior (Region 4), along with Police General Samran Nuanma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphon Yisakorn, Commander of Police Region 5, Police Lieutenant General Nopasin Poolsawat, Commander attached to the Royal Thai Police Headquarters, Police Major General Theerachai Chamnammo, Deputy Commander of the Immigration Police Bureau, the Chiang Mai Provincial Governor, officials from the Department of Provincial Administration, and a DOPA N.I.C.E. task force of over 200 personnel launched Operation “Suppressing the Danger in Chai Prakan” to crack down on a corruption ring issuing zero-status identity cards to foreigners in Chai Prakan District, Chiang Mai Province.
Police General Samran explained that this operation originated from investigations by police and the DOPA N.I.C.E. unit into the issuance of zero-status registration cards. Between 2018 and 2022, 5,044 such cards were issued, with multiple irregularities found: fake or nonexistent house numbers were used as registration points; fingerprint records were incomplete to evade biometric checks; false documents were certified; and many original documents were missing. Deeper investigations identified 23 foreigners suspected of improperly obtaining zero-status cards. Facial and fingerprint checks against immigration databases revealed all held foreign passports—22 Burmese and 1 Chinese individual.
Police General Samran added that evidence was gathered against 35 suspects divided into three groups: nine state and local administration officials including a former Chai Prakan district chief officer, village chiefs, and community leaders; three guarantors; and 23 foreigners fraudulently registered. Authorities conducted searches at 35 locations to arrest these suspects.
Initially, 20 suspects were arrested, including one former district chief officer of Chai Prakan, one village chief, one community leader, eight guarantors, and nine Burmese nationals accused of identity fraud.
Evidence indicates the irregularities formed a network linked to bringing migrant workers into Chai Prakan and other areas to fraudulently obtain zero-status registration cards—referred to by officials as a migrant worker laundering ring. Authorities will intensify investigations to identify all involved parties.
Police General Samran explained that zero-status registration cards are issued to individuals without prior population registration records, mainly border communities, displaced persons, and those in remote areas. This registration provides them a legal identity in the system, granting basic human rights such as access to education, healthcare, employment, and the ability to initiate nationality verification processes toward Thai citizenship if they meet legal criteria.
The Royal Thai Police confirmed its commitment to continuously dismantle such networks to protect the integrity of the population registry, prevent infiltration by transnational criminals, and safeguard national security. Citizens who detect signs of registration fraud, extortion related to registration processes, or suspect fraudulent identity documents are urged to report to local police stations or contact the national police hotline 1599, available 24 hours.