BANGKOK — Thai immigration officers arrested 14 Chinese nationals at a motel in Bangkok’s Saphan Sung district after receiving a tip about suspicious activity, authorities said Friday.
Officers began monitoring the area after a report that a group of Chinese foreigners had been staying at the motel and behaving unusually. Police said they observed several men moving in and out of the property with heightened caution over several days.
On December 12, immigration officers raided the motel and found 14 Chinese men staying in groups of three to four per room. Seven were able to present passports. Of those, three had overstayed their visas and four had no entry stamps indicating legal arrival in Thailand. The remaining seven had no passports at all.
During questioning, the men told police they had illegally crossed into Thailand through Mae Sot district in Tak province to escape Myanmar’s intensified crackdown on scam syndicates. They said Thailand was a transit point as they planned to move on to a third country.
Officers charged the first three suspects with overstaying their permitted stay in the kingdom. The remaining 11 were charged with illegal entry and staying in the country without passing through an official immigration checkpoint. All 14 suspects were transferred to Bang Chan Police Station for legal proceedings.
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