At 4:00 a.m. on February 13, Thai troops intensified patrols on the Cambodia–Thailand border following a tip and found a group carrying luggage near a natural crossing about 1.1 km from the border. Checks identified 16 Chinese nationals—15 men and one woman—who had entered unlawfully without passports. Officers found 266 phones in their luggage.
Preliminary inquiries indicated that the group had worked at a suspected scam compound in Poipet, Cambodia. The compound had planned to transfer them to other countries, but they wanted to return home through Thailand and paid a Cambodian guide 3,500 baht each to help them cross unlawfully. The guide returned to Cambodia after entry. The group was referred to police in Sa Kaeo province for legal procedures, with the origins of the phones and other items still under investigation.
