2 days ago
Two Thais fleeing Poipet caught at border
Two Thai men who said they worked for a gambling website based in the Cambodian border town of Poipet were arrested after they slipped back across the border through a concertina wire barrier in Sa Kaeo province early on Thursday.
A patrol team led by Col Methee Khamthem, commander of the 12th Ranger Forces Regiment, spotted the two men crawling under the border fence near Khlong Luek village in Aranyaprathet district at about 4.30am on Thursday.
Also taking part in the patrol were Ranger Company 1201, Khlong Luek police and Sa Kaeo immigration officers.
The suspects were identified as Jakkraphan Nukaew, 21, from Ranong province, and Setthawut Deenu, 20, from Phangnga. Neither had any travel documents.
During questioning, the two men told officers that they had been working as administrators for an online gambling platform called Heng Website, located in Zone 3 of a casino complex in Poipet.
They claimed they had been persuaded by a friend in April to work there. Upon arrival, they had been confined to a five-storey building surrounded by high walls. They had not been allowed to leave the premises, they said.
On Wednesday, they said they heard reports of possible border clashes in the area, which made them fear for their safety. They decided to escape at night. They claimed they met a Cambodian smuggler who offered to take them across the border for 10,000 baht.
After paying the fee, they were led to the border, crossed a canal and then crawled through the concertina wire into Thailand, where they were caught by patrol officers. The suspects were handed over to investigators at the Khlong Luek police station for legal action.
