Four Thai nationals were arrested for illegally crossing the border in Sa Kaeo province. They claimed they had been recruited to work as online gambling administrators in Poipet but were ultimately sent back after their employer said their duties ended following a bank account freeze.
At 06:30 on 3 Feb 2026, Colonel Chainarong Kasi, commander of the Aranyaprathet Task Force, Eastern Military Command, together with Colonel Pongsakorn Suengam, commander of Ranger Company 12, led troops from Ranger Company 1206 and a special operations unit to arrest four Thais. They were caught on foot illegally crossing the natural border from Cambodia into Thailand near the rice fields at the end of Kud Hin Village, Moo 4, Khlong Nam Sai Subdistrict, Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo, about 300 meters from Highway 3366.
Initial checks revealed all four had Thai ID cards and admitted to illegally crossing from Cambodia to return to their hometowns. Authorities took them for questioning at Ranger Company 1206 base in Khlong Nam Sai Subdistrict, Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo.
During questioning, the four Thais—one from Maha Sarakham, two from Roi Et, and one from Bangkok—said that around mid-January 2026, they were invited via an online app page to work as online gambling administrators in Poipet, Cambodia. They were offered salaries between 10,000 and 20,000 baht and were told to open bank accounts before starting work. They were then led by a guide who picked them up from their hometowns and helped them cross the border illegally into Cambodia through a natural crossing point.
The guide took them to stay and scan their faces for bank transactions inside a building at SOKHA CONDOMINIUM in Malai District, Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia, opposite Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo. Later, their bank accounts were frozen, and the Thai employer told them, "Your duties are over; you will be sent back to your hometowns in Thailand."
Subsequently, a Cambodian caretaker took them to the border area on the Cambodian side and abandoned them, telling them to cross the border illegally back into Thailand on their own. They were then apprehended by the rangers.
Ranger Company 1206 officials detained the four Thais and handed them over to investigators at Klong Nam Sai Police Station, Sa Kaeo, to proceed with legal action.