Nong Khai — Nong Khai Customs has arrested a Thai national who was caught smuggling 17 mobile phones and iPads packed in luggage and carried across the border into the country. The suspect has been handed over to police, and authorities suspect a connection to a scammer network.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. today (29 July) at the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge Border Checkpoint No. 1 in Mueang Nong Khai District, Ms. Wanna Phu-utsa, Acting Director of Nong Khai Customs Office, and Ms. Lalita Atthapimon, Director of Regional Customs Office 2, were carrying out operations in accordance with the policy of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanpraphas on systematic suppression of cyber threats.
Officers spotted a Thai national acting suspiciously while entering the country. They conducted an X-ray inspection of the individual's baggage and found objects resembling electronic devices concealed inside. Upon further physical inspection, the items turned out to be 13 mobile phones and 4 iPads — 17 devices in total — an amount considered abnormal for personal everyday use.
This comes after Lao authorities launched crackdown operations to dismantle scammer gang bases and online gambling operations across multiple areas of the Lao PDR, detaining hundreds of offenders, the majority of whom are Thai nationals. A number have already been pushed back and repatriated, though authorities believe some remain. Officials suspect that these networks have been smuggling electronic devices back into Thailand — either by carrying them personally or by asking others to bring them across on their behalf. The suspect will now be transferred to Mueang Nong Khai Police Station for further investigation to trace any links to technology-crime networks.
