Latest news with #MarineTaskForce
Bangkok Post
5 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Desperate, jobless Cambodians caught sneaking into Thailand
Forty-six jobless Cambodians were caught sneaking into Thailand through Chanthaburi border province on Tuesday night, driven by lack of employment opportunities in Cambodia. Six Myanmar nationals were also caught in Sa Kaeo province after crossing illegally from Cambodia. They said they were attempting to return home to Myanmar because there was no work for them in Cambodia. About 8pm, troops from the Marine Task Force in Chanthaburi raided a house in Ban Khlong Bon of tambon Nong Ta Khong in Pong Nam Ron district, acting on information. They arrested a Thai national, Somnuek Phadlek, 49, and detained 46 Cambodians he had allegedly led into Thailand along a natural pathway - 16 men, 10 women and 21 children. The Cambodians said they decided to take the risk of sneaking into Thailand by hiring a Thai smuggler because they had no work, no money and no prospects in their homeland. Mr Somnuek was being held at Ban Plang police station, accused of helping people enter Thailand illegally. The Cambodians would be sent back home, police said. In Sa Kaeo, the army's Burapha Task Force arrested a Cambodian smuggler and six Myanmar workers, five men and a woman, in Aranyaprathet district about 9.30pm. The Myanmar people told officials they were trying to return to Myanmar through Thailand because there was no work in Cambodia, even though they had previously been promised jobs on construction sites. They had paid about 3 million kyat, about 46,000 baht, to the smuggler, they said. Officials said they were monitoring the situation as there were recent reports that Myanmar nationals had been deceived into working for Cambodian scam gangs and casinos along the border. On Monday, nine Cambodians arrested
Bangkok Post
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Cambodian 'spy' held near border
A Cambodian national suspected of espionage has been detained by Thai security forces near the eastern border in Chanthaburi province. According to a military intelligence source, personnel from the Marine Task Force in Chanthaburi invited Oeun Khoem, 43, for questioning at Pong Nam Ron police station on Tuesday. Immigration police and provincial police investigators also participated in the questioning. Oeun Khoem, holds a Cambodian passport and a valid Non-Immigrant L-A visa (specifically for workers in certain sectors). Records show he entered Thailand on March 12, with a visa valid until March 11, 2027. He had been residing at 301/1, Moo 1, tambon Thap Sai in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi. Authorities began an investigation after suspecting Oeun Khoem was a Cambodian military intelligence agent. Evidence against the suspect included a Facebook post by him that said: 'THAILAND ATTACKS FIRST, CAMBODIA DEFENDS,' along with photographs. Officials also discovered a Cambodian military uniform in his Mazda pickup truck and at his registered address. Although his passport and visa were valid, investigators confiscated his mobile phone for digital forensic examination. Under further questioning, he allegedly confessed to being a second lieutenant serving in Cambodia's intelligence unit. It was reported he was gathering information on Thai military activities in the Chanthaburi-Trat border area and transmitting the intel to the Cambodian army for operational purposes. Meanwhile, Traisuree Traisaranakul, a former Bhumjaithai Party MP for Si Sa Ket, one of the provinces affected by the Thai-Cambodian border clashes, warned that foreign spies are now posing as donors, bringing supplies to frontline villages near the border under the guise of humanitarian aid, while surveying GPS coordinates and deploying drones.
